Review by Brian M. Carroll, seen at Fringe de Montreal
55 min | Comedy/Storytelling | PG-13
Weaksauce is a coming of age story told by Sam Mullins who toured Tinfoil Dinosaur on the Fringe circuit last year.
He sets the stage with two short tales. The first is about his best friend Sesha who moved away when they were nine. The second is an acutely embarrassing experience when Sesha returns at age 13, and talks him into a swimming party at his house for all her girl friends.
Mullins survives the embarrassment, getting another chance to redeem himself with the fair sex at the age of 16, when he is a counsellor at a summer sports camp. His tale now revolves around Amanda, a pretty counsellor who sets his heart aflutter, and David, a professional sports player from Britain who rubs his amateur hockey player pride the wrong way.
16-year-old Mullins has his emotions tied in knots by the ensuing events involving Sam and Amanda, Sam and David, and Amanda and David. Sam learns a lot about women,…
about himself…
and about his relationship with a competing guy.
Sprinkled through this charming tale are delightful turns of phrase like: “your heart has that new heart smell”.
Many coming-of-age stories are delightful because of the discoveries of new love, and new friends. Weaksauce has this, certainly.
What sets this gentle tale apart is what Sam learns from meeting a rival.
Checking out the audience, the young women were especially enthralled with Mullins and his tale. So, guys: bring a date.
But there was another set of potential audience members missing when we saw the show in Montreal.
Parents would be well advised to bring their teenage sons to see this show. As a former hockey player, Mullins provides a role model for teenage boys to talk about their feelings. Set some time aside to chat afterwards.
There is explicit sexual content in the script of this show. Under 12 not admitted.
Weaksauce by Sam S. Mullins will be playing at the Winnipeg Fringe at Venue #17 -PTE – Colin Jackson Studio 393 Portage Ave. – Portage Place, 3rd floor from July 17th to 28th. Tickets are $10.
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