tippiseagram’s blog

She’s ba-a-ack! Old school Hollywood diva Tippie Seagram — a brash, boozy blend of Norma Desmond and the gang from AbFab — follows up her beloved Confessions of a Casting Couch Cougar show with another razor-sharp pastiche of Hollywood witticism and middle-aged observation. Seagram skips between improv session and pitch-perfect parody, firing off juicy bon mots about CanCon, the gay panic of the Bush administration, and that cougar designation (”Ten more years and I’ll be a sabre-toothed tiger!” she admits). With Canuck comic Colette Kendall wearing Tippie’s fur coat and wig like a second skin, Tippie’s also not above taking a shot at herself, detailing her failed first marriage, her bouts with weight gain, and her — ahem — pruning regimen. There’s a lot of mixing it up with audience members, so if you’re scared of that kinda thing, don’t make eye contact. And even though Kendall flubbed a few lines during a recent show — “Blame the menopause, darlings!” was her spot-on recovery — the Tippie experience isn’t one you’re likely to forget anytime soon.

Sun Rating: 4 out of 5

– David Schmeichel

B+

Aging Hollywood starlet Tippi Seagram (Colette Kendall) is crude, brash and politically incorrect - and she’s fabulous, dahling. In a spitfire one woman show/stand-up comedy act, Tippi skewers everything from the aging process to politics to bikini waxes, making for a show that manages to be as clever as it is vulgar. Expertly playing to the audience - you probably should be afraid of Tippi Seagram if you’re not into some light teasing - she works hard for her laughs, and it was the well-handled improv that made this show a standout. At the late night performance I caught, a young guy in the back fell prey to the irreverent cougar and ended up adding a whole new level of humour to the show. Though some of the jokes were groan-worthy, you have to admire a comedian who can say “Fuck you, I thought that one was cute.” - JZ

CBC Review:
Well, dahling, Tippi Seagram is back with another smashing solo show. You remember Tippi, don’t you? She debuted at last year’s Fringe in Tippi Seagram’s Happy Hour. Critics and audiences ate that one up, and this show is just as saucy and just as hilarious. And you’ll be happy to hear that it’s part two of a promised trilogy from funnywoman Colette Kendall. I can’t imagine anyone more fun to share a cocktail with. If Tippi Seagram were a martini, she’d be two parts Dorothy Parker, one part Katherine Hepburn with a twist of Rabelais. This Hollywood starlet and self-proclaimed cougar prowls the theatre in her black dress, fur coat, and leopard-print heels with her drink in one fist and libidinous one-liners in the other. She leaves no Hollywood stone unburned in her 45-minute set. She skewers everyone with equal relish, from Anna Nicole Smith (“She finally caught up with her career�) to Ben Mulroney (“he puts in the ‘dull’ in Canadian Idol�). Of course she doesn’t spare the audience her sharp tongue. But don’t worry dahling, it’s all in good fun. Aunt Prudence might not appreciate her bawdy humor. Tippi tells it like it is whether she’s mocking politics, our aging bodies or our sex lives. A few times the energy flags, and she doesn’t offer much in the way of a story. But Tippi Seagram is one of the most entertaining characters you’ll encounter at the Fringe. Go see it, dahling!

CBC Rating: Four Bars

Reviewed by: Iris Yudai