Toronto Fringe Festival

Congratulations to Bruria Cooperman and her director Eva Almos on last night’s opening of Rebel Bubbie, Inc. at the Alumnae Theatre as part of this year’s annual Toronto Fringe Festival. The theatre was mostly populated by friends and family (and Bruria has a big family) who laughed throughout her 60-minute show recounting stories of her life and what it means to now be a “bubbie” (Jewish grandmother). Even as a first-timer at the Fringe, Bruria owned the stage and seemed very comfortable sharing her thoughts and experiences, never shying away from recounting some of the naughtier moments in her life.So here’s a little background on the show, the stories and the bubbie…. Hot off her scene-stealing appearance in the Adam Sandler film, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, Bruria Cooperman is a semi-reformed, self-confessed renegade who wrote and stars in an unfiltered one-woman comedy, co-written with Almos. As we learn, she was always in search of adventure, discovering that marriage won’t stop you from being arrested, banned from a casino, being taken into police custody in Yugoslavia for nudging a mule (!) or getting kicked-out of a bagel joint. From performing improv in NYC in the 60s & 70s, being at Woodstock, to drag racing, floating in a weightless space tube, authoring books – Rebel Bubbie has done it all…and only arrested twice (she holds up 3 fingers in a sly aside from the stage!) Cooperman has led a life of trail-blazing: she was part of the first generation of children born in Israel, post-Holocaust. From an early age, she exhibited an attitude of “Hey, look at me!” This adventurous child got into all manner of scrapes with her playmates and on her own. Always finding humour in the darkness, she wrote a book about children born to Holocaust survivors titled For This I Survived? Children of Survivors Beyond the Trauma (avail. on Amazon). When the curtain came down on last night’s show, Bruria was surrounded by well-wishers who embraced her and offered kudos and encouragement for the rest of the run.

And head of ACTRA Toronto, David Gale (pictured below L) also dropped in to congratulate Bruria on her show Emmy-nominated creator Eva also had friends come out to support the show (pictured below, R) and she was pleased to sit and relax after the show…The Toronto Fringe Festival runs over the next 10 days at various locations with numerous plays, musicals, puppetry and dance so check out their website for details Rebel Bubbie, Inc. show is 60-min. and all shows are staged at the Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkley Street, Toronto.
Info & Tickets: www.FringeToronto.com
Here are the dates and times:
Thursday, July 4^th  6:00 pm $10.00     Thurs July 11^th 8:15 pm $15.00
Saturday, July 6^th12:30 pm $15.00      Friday July 12^th 6:00 pm $15.00
Sunday July 7^th 2:15 pm   $15.00 Sat. July 13^th 3:15 pm $15.00
Wed. July 10^th 6:00 pm   $15.00

Again, congrats to the one and only REBEL BUBBIE!

Just 6-weeks until Toronto welcomes the annual theatrical Fringe Festival, offering a multitude of comedy and drama presentations by hundreds of actors, writers, directors and hard-working crews. Hot off her scene-stealing appearance in the Adam Sandler film, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, 75yr old Bruria Cooperman, a.k.a. Rebel Bubbie, a semi-reformed, self-confessed renegade, stars in an unfiltered one-woman comedy at this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival. Always in search of adventure, Rebel Bubbie has discovered that marriage won’t stop you from being arrested, banned from a casino, or getting kicked-out of a bagel joint. From performing improv in NYC in the 60s & 70s, to directing and producing theatre, to drag racing (the 4-wheeled kind), floating in a weightless space tube, writing books – Rebel Bubbie has done it all! And only arrested twice! Cooperman has led a life of trail-blazing: she was part of the first generation of children born in Israel, post-Holocaust. From an early age, she exhibited an attitude of “Hey, look at me!” This adventurous child got into all manner of scrapes with her playmates and on her own. Always finding humour in the darkness, she wrote a book about children born to Holocaust survivors titled For This I Survived? Children of Survivors Beyond the Trauma (avail. on Amazon).Rebel Bubbie posts fun videos sharing her “Yiddish Word of the Day” on her YouTube channel – subscribe to: @RebelBubbie. Follow on Facebook & Instagram.

Definition: Traditionally, a bubbie (the Yiddish word for grandmother) wore floral housecoats, made chicken soup and gave you the biggest hug. Today’s bubbie still loves you, but wears designers suits, plays tennis and orders in. Bruria’s co-writer, executive producer and director is Eva Almos (pictured below) who has found success as a writer/executive producer on both the East and West coast. A graduate of the Warner Bros. Television Writers’ Workshop, Eva began her career as staff writer of multiple episodes of Duckman. She won a CableACE Award and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program for the episode “Noir Gang.” She has worked on numerous live action and animated series including The Wild Thornberrys, Pinky and the Brain and Invader Zim.Eva went on to develop and executive produce the animated series Carl Squared for Teletoon, developed Dave Darling-Head Case for Starburns Industries, and developed/wrote the popular TVO/PBS series Wild Kratts where she also plays fashion-designing villain Donita Donata. I remember Eva as the voice of so many brilliant radio commercials in the 80s/90s – so good was she, that Eva became the go-to voice actor for every advertiser, but bigger things beckoned her in Hollywood…and the rest is tv history!I’m thrilled to be publicizing Rebel Bubbie, Inc. throughout the Toronto Fringe Fest period so watch for news on my social media throughout the next 6 weeks.

All 60-min. shows take place at the Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkley Street, Toronto
Thursday, July 4^th 6:00 pm $10.00
Saturday, July 6^th12:30 pm $15.00
Sunday July 7^th 2:15 pm $15.00
Wed. July 10^th 6:00 pm $15.00
Thurs July 11^th 8:15 pm $15.00
Friday July 12^th 6:00 pm $15.00
Sat. July 13^th 3:15 pm $15.00
Tickets: www.FringeToronto.com