Review: TORONTO, I LOVE YOU at Bad Dog Comedy Theatre

I like Toronto a lot (I'm not ready for 'love') and I'm a sucker for good comedy, so it was only a matter of time before I made my way down to Bad Dog Theatre again to check out TORONTO, I LOVE YOU, a large-cast improv show about my beliked city.

TORONTO, I LOVE YOU has been playing on and off for a while now but, like the 6ix itself, the story is always changing. At the start of each show, the cast takes a few suggestions (Koreatown! The Alexandria Park pool!) so every night the action ends up somewhere different.

The show is entirely improvised, and with eight people on stage at any given moment, some of the scenes get absolutely wild. Last night, a waitress's first puff of cannabis led to chaos at an ice cream shop, havoc at a park, and true love at a water filtration plant.

Only seasoned experts could pull all of that together, but seasoned they are, and pull it together they did. There isn't a weak link in this cast of skilled and charming improvisers, but I think I laughed the hardest for Devon Henderson, who brought a touch of sadism to some of her improvisations. Hogtown, after all, is not an easy city.

If there is one problem with this show, it might be how little the cast seem to know about some parts of Toronto the Good. Half of the scenes supposed to be set in Koreatown ended up at Baskin-Robbins, which led the audience member who suggested it - and the only East Asian person present that night - to conclude that some research might be in order for the cast of TORONTO, I LOVE YOU.

I have to admit that I lo - er, greatly appreciate Koreatown. And I have strong positive feelings for Bloorcourt Village. And I really bloody liked TORONTO, I LOVE YOU.

TORONTO, I LOVE YOU runs through 21 December at Bad Dog Comedy Theatre, 875, Second Floor, Bloor Street West, Toronto.

For more information or to buy tickets, click here.

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