LIFE IN THE RAW Premieres at Toronto Fringe Festival Tonight, July 5

Barbara Larose's first play, Life in the Raw, will premiere at the George Ignatieff Theatre as part of the 2012 Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival tonight, July 5th.

Working with playwright and composer Rick Jones, the husband and wife team has created a series of dramatic scenes punctuated with musical "arias", monologues set to music. "The tales were compelling, and it was important for me to preserve them. So many life lessons handed down, but also great stories that had us in laughter and tears", explains Larose. "I think they'd be happy with the way we've used their history as the basis for our play."

"It seemed natural to add songs", adds Jones. "We had these great character-driven sections filled
with emotion, and we wanted to provide them with as much impact as possible. What better way to
achieve this than to set some of them to music?"

A cast of 5 portrays the poor but proud Whitaker family, struggling to survive in 1930's Montreal.
The three daughters, played by Rielle Braid, Kaitlin Lane, and Brianne Tucker, were cast from
over 100 actors who requested auditions. "We were overwhelmed by the amount of talent we saw",
Larose admits, "but I think when you see the three sisters together on stage you'll know we made
the right choice". Jones tackles the role of the father, partnered by Fringe veteran and Daughter of
The Rock songstress Denise Norman as the mother.

Tickets are $10 cash at door or online at www.fringetoronto.com.