I really enjoyed dancer Leslie Carvey’s tribute to the ground-breaking entertainer Josephine Baker at last year’s fringe, so I was excited to see her current work, Selena, Death after Life. Unfortunately, the production suffered from some pretty major technical difficulties including too-dark projections and unannounced extended intermission that left the audience wondering if they should leave. To be fair, the show was a last-minute addition, and Carvey should be applauded for stepping up to fill a programming void. But even without the technical difficulties, the show is a little too much like watching a precocious child playing dress up and lip-syncing to her favourite songs. Carvey needs better material to show off her unique charm and dancing abilities.
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This article appears in Sep 3-9, 2009.