Tag Archives: Tricia Williams

“GROWN ASS’D BROADS TALKIN’ DIRTY” TO OPEN IN TORONTO FRINGE FEST JULY ’25

Well, it’s that time of year again when Toronto’s actors, writers and directors take over every available theatre space to present their latest works and entertain us. And I’m proud to announce that my talented friend Tricia Williams and her castmates will be presenting their fabulous and funny Grown Ass’d Broads Talkin’ Dirty to audiences in the Crest Theatre Green Room at the Performing Arts Lodge (PAL) 110 The Esplanade starting July 2.The play tells of five bawdy and fierce broads who meet monthly to enjoy theme parties at each
others’ houses – friends since they belonged to the same volley ball team as teenagers. We catch up with them several decades later; they are not so much friends as sisters…sometimes rivaling sisters. There will be booze, food, bitching, arguing, laughing and cussing. It’s like an episode of the Golden Girls but funnier…and dirtier!Grown Ass*d Broads Broads Talkin’ Dirty was written by the incomparable Valerie Boyle (pictured below). At 75 years old, this is her first Toronto Fringe Festival! She was most recently seen on Canada’s Got Talent and wowed the judges with her sense of humour and her poignant rendition of Send in the Clowns. Valerie starred for several years on Broadway as Mrs. Brill in Mary Poppins. She was Shirley in Shirley Valentine for a Canadian Tour and Mother Superior in Nunsense for twelve productions – a role she is resurrecting in July at the Victoria Playhouse Petrolia for Nunsense’s 40th Anniversary.Director Christel Bartelse has wowed Fringe audiences and beyond, with her one-woman shows and has been nominated twice for a Canadian Comedy Award and has earned rave reviews. She has toured every major Canadian fringe festival, as well as several in the U.S. and has performed twice at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The cast includes Andrea Davis (Intimate Apparel, Hamlet), Jorie Morrow (Disarming Venus, Checkpoint 300), Linda Joyce Nourse (Transplant and the Women at Play Festival), Morrie Sinkins (Disarming Venus, Shaw Festival) and Tricia Williams (The Sorauren Book Club, Hymns and Hearse).

Get your tickets now at: www.fringetoronto.com 

GREAT NIGHT OF THEATRE TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THIS YEAR’S FRINGE FESTIVAL

Thrilled to see friend and theatre buddy TRICIA WILLIAMS promoting a fundraiser performance for the Fringe-bound Grown Ass*d Broads Talkin’ Dirty that features legendary Canadian stage & screen actor VALERIE BOYLE. Tricia passed along all the details and, if you’re in Toronto this Friday night, I encourage you to head down to the Performing Arts Lodge to enjoy a night of theatrical hijinks.  Here’s what it’s all about….On Friday March 14th, there will be a fundraiser for the upcoming 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival comedic play, Grown Ass*d Broads Talkin’ Dirty. This night of music and comedy promises to be fun and full of hilarity, and features renowned singer/actor who also wrote the play, the indomitable Valerie Boyle (pictured below)Valerie starred, wrote and produced her own one-woman show,Sophie Tucker,which toured Canada, as well as workshopped in London, UK, and she was also Shirley in Shirley Valentinewhen the play toured Canada. She also starred as Mother Superior in Nunsense for twelve productions – a role she is going to resurrect again in 2025 at the Victoria Playhouse, Petrolia, for the Nunsense 40th Anniversary. Valerie also has numerous big & small screen roles to her credit including a turn on Murdoch Mysteries. She is a Canadian treasure.

Another featured performer will be Curtis Sullivan (pictured below) whose time at the Stratford Festival includes the roles of Admiral von Schreiber in The Sound of Music, Captain Watson in Carousel, Tony (cover) in The Boyfriend and Giuseppe Palmieri in The Gondoliers. Rounding out this night of show-stopping musical performances will be Tiffany Deriveau (below) who has performed in Soul Sistas as Tina Turner, Wanda in Beehive: the 60s Musical, Mama Morton in Chicago and Crystal in Little Shop of Horrors, in various theatres across the country.Bringing the comedy will be Christel Bartelse (below). As a solo artist, Christel has wowed Fringe audiences and beyond with her one-woman shows including CHAOTICA, ONEymoon, Significant Me, All KIDding Aside, The Surprise and Encore. She has been nominated twice for a Canadian Comedy Award and has toured every major Canadian fringe festival, as well as several in the U.S. and has performed twice at the original Edinburgh Fringe Festival.The emcee for the evening will be Tricia Williams who has graced the Toronto Fringe Festival stage for the past three years in hit shows such as the Sorauren Book Club, Hymns and Hearse and Disarming Venus. She is also a cast member of Grown Ass*d Broads Talkin’ Dirty along with Jorie Morrow, Andrea Davis, Morrie Sinkins and Julie Burris.The fundraiser will take place at the Performing Arts Lodge (PAL), 110 The Esplanade in the Crest Green Room Theatre. Tickets are $20 cash at the door and $10 cash for residents of PAL. Doors will open at 7:00 pm and show time is 7:30 pm.

So come on down to PAL, just around the corner from the St. Lawrence Market and have a great night of fun and laughs with a cast of great Canadian actors…including my friend, Tricia. Tell her I sent you!