This ended up being it for me, as I went to Greece for a wedding. I invited three potential fathers there under false pretenses…the drama!

I’ll fill you in on the final two Fringe shows in my 2026 lineup – a KidsFest show and an improv show, just to mix things up.

The Everlasting Friendship of Billy & Bink is a KidsFest musical puppet show about two best friends – one puppet, one human. It’s a sweet, snappy, 35-ish-minute show written and performed by my spin class buddy, Will Parry. The music, which is actually pretty good, was written by Chris Tsujiuchi.

This show has my mom seal of approval for not being brain rot. Will is a charismatic, lovable performer, the story is simple but age-appropriate without being mind-numbing, the music is lovely, and the show has a few jokes that parents will appreciate. Most importantly, the kids at my performance were fully engaged. If you’ve got young kiddos, check this one out when it inevitably pops up again. (I would’ve taken my son, but all the performance times conflicted with his nap).

You Choose: An Improvised Murder Mystery is an improv show created by The Howland Company. Five (or six) incredibly talented improvisers draw new hotel guest personas from a hat at each performance, and the audience gets to choose which one will be the murderer. If the cast incorrectly identifies the murderer, the audience wins! At my show, the personas were:

• A single English teacher having an “Eat Pray Love” summer
• A man pre-scouting a hotel for a makeup honeymoon
• A method actor of questionable talent who refuses to break character
• A vaguely British HVAC salesperson with a chip on her shoulder
• A hotel reviewer who is determined to remain incognito

Improv is hit or miss. This was an unequivocal hit.

The cast is fantastic. The performers have clearly rehearsed the non-improvised portions of the show well (where to stand, when to play each game, etc.), so I never felt that unsettling sense of uncertainty that can sometimes come with improv. Most importantly, my performance was very funny.

Coincidentally, the performance I attended featured a special guest performer: Kris Siddiqi, a former Second City Mainstage performer who starred in one of my favourite Second City sketches ever – a circa-2010 bit about carrying a casket down a flight of stairs. Belated thanks for the laughs, Kris, and congrats on looking recognizable enough 15+ years later that I actually put two and two together.

If this show pops up elsewhere around the city and you’re into improv, I recommend it wholeheartedly.