{"data":{"id":"c235847c-01f9-4b76-931f-ecb4c855c642","originKind":"SYNDICATED","title":"Fringe review: Darrin Hagen does it again with the delightful Go West, Young Man","summary":"Go West, Young Man\n\n5 stars (out of 5)\n\nStage 11, Varscona Theatre, 10329 83 Ave.\n\nTwo Fringe productions shimmer a spotlight on sexually confident 1930s screen icon Mae West this year, ain’t we just the luckiest?\n\nThis one, though, has the immediate allure of being a Guys in Disguise bio-farce penned by the magnificent Darrin Hagen, local queer historian and The Edmonton Queen playwright.\n\nSold, sight unseen … but let’s dive in!\n\nDetailing the legendary origin story of Canadian drag pioneer Craig Russell – who in 1963 took a Greyhound from small-town Ontario at 15 to hand-deliver a past-prime West a satchel of fan club letters in a scheme to get close up and study her – the play bursts with the perfect Bugs Bunny one-liners like “I used to be Snow White but I drifted” you’d expect.\n\nUnder a wig that looks like you’d need a neck massage after, singer Andrea House does a terrific job playing a much-older-than-her West. Same goes for local drag hero Zachary Parsons-Lozinski pulling off 15, and with a terrific set of pipes, to boot! As their relationship evolves (and declines) serious questions about ownership and mimicry of image that could even apply to vampiric AI are brought up and considered within a context of impersonation and exploitation.\n\n“You’re all I’ve ever wanted to be,” declares Russell.\n\n“Well, somebody beat you to it!” retorts West.\n\nYet all this rising tension sits in a (gorgeously decorated) nest of hope and ambition as we see two ends of the life cycle of stardom colliding, zings from West worth the price of admission alone.\n\nAdd in a pesky, historically accurate monkey named Boogie (played restlessly by Ainsley Hillyard) and West’s young, Hugh Jackman-styled paramour stud Paul Novak (David McNally) in a muscle suit, and you start to ask yourself, what more could anyone want from a Fringe play?\n\nHagen’s done it again, and now here I am on deadline going down several Wikipedia wormholes, including about West’s various monkeys …\n\nBut you’d be bananas to miss this one!\n\nfgriwkowsky@postmedia.com\n\nRelated Fringe Review: Erika MacDonald turns tea into an absurdist metaphor\n\nFringe Review: Beach to the Future is pure Fringe fun\n\nFringe Review: The First Vampire a funny look at the creators of the blood sucking story\n\nBookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.\n\nYou can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.","url":"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/theatre/fringe-review-darrin-hagen-does-it-again-with-the-delightful-go-west-young-man","imageUrl":"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/1ep07074_304712507.jpeg","publishedAt":"2026-08-14T19:36:09.000Z","sourceLabel":"Edmonton Journal Music","tags":["Entertainment","Theatre"],"authorName":"Fish Griwkowsky","contentHtml":"<img alt=\"Andrea House as Mae West in Go West, Young Man, running at the Edmonton Fringe Festival.\" src=\"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/1ep07074_304712507.jpeg\" title=\"Andrea House as Mae West in Go West, Young Man, running at the Edmonton Fringe Festival.\" /><p> <strong>Go West, Young Man</strong> </p><p> <strong>5 stars (out of 5)</strong> </p><p> <strong>Stage 11, Varscona Theatre, 10329 83 Ave.</strong> </p><p> Two Fringe productions shimmer a spotlight on sexually confident 1930s screen icon Mae West this year, ain’t we just the luckiest? </p><p> This one, though, has the immediate allure of being a Guys in Disguise bio-farce penned by the magnificent Darrin Hagen, local queer historian and The Edmonton Queen playwright. </p><p> Sold, sight unseen … but let’s dive in! </p><p> Detailing the legendary origin story of Canadian drag pioneer Craig Russell – who in 1963 took a Greyhound from small-town Ontario at 15 to hand-deliver a past-prime West a satchel of fan club letters in a scheme to get close up and study her – the play bursts with the perfect Bugs Bunny one-liners like “I used to be Snow White but I drifted” you’d expect. </p><p> Under a wig that looks like you’d need a neck massage after, singer Andrea House does a terrific job playing a much-older-than-her West. Same goes for local drag hero Zachary Parsons-Lozinski pulling off 15, and with a terrific set of pipes, to boot! As their relationship evolves (and declines) serious questions about ownership and mimicry of image that could even apply to vampiric AI are brought up and considered within a context of impersonation and exploitation. </p><p> “You’re all I’ve ever wanted to be,” declares Russell. </p><p> “Well, somebody beat you to it!” retorts West. </p><p> Yet all this rising tension sits in a (gorgeously decorated) nest of hope and ambition as we see two ends of the life cycle of stardom colliding, zings from West worth the price of admission alone. </p><p> Add in a pesky, historically accurate monkey named Boogie (played restlessly by Ainsley Hillyard) and West’s young, Hugh Jackman-styled paramour stud Paul Novak (David McNally) in a muscle suit, and you start to ask yourself, what more could anyone want from a Fringe play? </p><p> Hagen’s done it again, and now here I am on deadline going down several Wikipedia wormholes, including about West’s various monkeys … </p><p> But you’d be bananas to miss this one! </p><p> <a href=\"mailto:fgriwkowsky@postmedia.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">fgriwkowsky@postmedia.com</a> </p><h2>Related</h2><ul><li><a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/fringe-review-erika-macdonald-turns-tea-into-an-absurdist-metaphor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Fringe Review: Erika MacDonald turns tea into an absurdist metaphor</a></li><li><a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/fringe-review-beach-to-the-future-is-pure-fringe-fun\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Fringe Review: Beach to the Future is pure Fringe fun</a></li><li><a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/fringe-review-the-first-vampire-a-funny-look-at-the-creators-of-the-blood-sucking-story\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Fringe Review: The First Vampire a funny look at the creators of the blood sucking story</a></li></ul><p> <strong>Bookmark our website and support our journalism:</strong><em>Don’t miss the news you need to know — add <a href=\"http://edmontonjournal.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">EdmontonJournal.com</a> and <a href=\"http://edmontonsun.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">EdmontonSun.com</a> to your bookmarks and <a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/newsletters/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">sign up for our newsletters here.</a></em> </p><p> <em>You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: <a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/subscribe/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Edmonton Journal</a> | <a href=\"https://edmontonsun.com/subscribe/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Edmonton Sun.</a></em> </p>","slug":"fringe-review-darrin-hagen-does-it-again-with-the-delightful-go-west-young-man","publicPath":"/news/2026-08-14-fringe-review-darrin-hagen-does-it-again-with-the-delightful-go-west-young-man"}}