Extravaganza Eleganza: Smart, Funny & Super Proud!
03 Jun 2019.  -

Funnier than gay hell (and believe me, a gay hell would be hysterical!) Extravaganza Eleganza is billed as a “queer-forward original sketch comedy revue written by the best sketch comedians in the city, as Tom Hearn explains in an earlier interview with My Gay Toronto, “I put together a group of the best sketch comedians in the city and it just so happens they are all queer.” Originally performed at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre, Extravaganza Eleganza has been selected as part of 2019 Best of the Fest show at Toronto Comedy Sketch Festival in addition to being nominated for two Canadian comedy awards and was named in the top five comedy shows of 2018 by Now Magazine.

With sketches that are as intelligent as they are hysterical, the top-notch cast of comedians take the audience on the queerest of journeys, much of which focuses on life in Toronto (or Port Hope!). Perhaps one of the smartest queer (or otherwise) comedy shows I’ve seen in years because, instead of being dotted by funny moments, it’s a seamless laugh-fest from beginning to end. A Meatloaf Parody, Escape From the Closet and The Gay Agenda are just some of the skits that are woven together by Sluts For Drama and some well-timed RuPaul digs.

If Saturday Night Live had sex with Kids In The Hall during a musical, Extravaganza Eleganza would be the offspring. Even a few old stereotype jokes are tossed in but with entirely surprising twists. You certainly don’t have to be gay to find this show hysterical, but if you are you’ll appreciate the nuanced in-jokes that only a Toronto queer would get. Why this show is not already on Broadway is a mystery to me.