Andy Assaf, Matthew Nadeau, Chelsea Larkin and Edward Choi from David Lynch’s Seinfeld | Photo by Paul Aihoshi
Presented by Goop2 Productions
I have two disclosures. Firstly, I’ve never watched a single episode of Seinfeld in its entirety. Just through cultural osmosis, I’ve retained enough to understand what’s being spoofed on that score. Secondly, I was a little choked up by the end of this. David Lynch is very special to me. Losing him at the top of the year hit me rather hard, so the full-on Lynchian finale here—which felt spiritually authentic—really moved me.
So, yeah, David Lynch’s Seinfeld does a great job of affectionately imitating and fusing these entities. The writing-directing team of Paul Aihoshi, Guy Bradford and Colin Sharpe clearly adore both Seinfeld and Lynch. The interwoven plot threads are tight and adhere rigorously to the sit-com format. This whole affair is hilarious too. And legitimately creepy.
The plot revolves around Kramer (Andy Assaf) getting some fancy artisanal donuts stolen, George (Matthew Nadeau) evading a crooner (Sharpe) who wants him to accept responsibility for a dental accident, Elaine (Chelsea Larkin) dealing with a Gulag-surviving writer (Nicole Passmore) she just can’t satisfy and Jerry (Edward Choi) losing confidence in his stand-up skills after a series of creepy dreams featuring a faceless Tall Man (Aihoshi) who repeats his material back at him in an eerie drone—welcome to the stage, David Lynch.
As the about nothing plot unfolds, about everything Lynchian motifs abound, culminating in a nightmare deconstruction of The Simpsons and an abstract melodramatic fever dream—a very Lynchian denouement. The references are apt and clever. The performances, across the board, are truly inspired impressions that feel lived-in on their own terms. I need to shout out Passmore’s Russian Gulag lady, Tikhonov. I loved her screamed demands—so hysterically unhinged.
Sarina French’s Lynchian props are legit. She nails that scrappy bizarro artifice the defines so much of his aesthetic. David Sharpe’s sound and lighting is on point too. Fragments of Angelo Badalamenti’s music coexist with Seinfeld’s iconic sit-com riff, which gets progressively distorted because of course that would happen if David Lynch is in the room.
Easily recognizable, high concept ideas are attention-grabbing lend themselves well to Fringe. Who would have thought, though, that this mash-up could be so seamless? The creators, I guess. Well done! It’s a great dual tribute, an absolute blast, and strangely resonant.
David Lynch’s Seinfeld
@Toronto Fringe Festival
running July 2 to 13, 2025
Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse (79 Saint George St)
running time: 55 minutes
