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Image featuring illustration and text in black and orange against a white background. To the left: A medium close-up retro illustration of a man wearing a suit and an orange tie, winking and smiling as he gives a thumbs up with his right hand. To the right: "People Suck" in black font, with the words "a musical airing of grievances" in white font inside an orange rectangle.
Image featuring illustration and text in black and orange against a white background. To the left: A medium close-up retro illustration of a man wearing a suit and an orange tie, winking and smiling as he gives a thumbs up with his right hand. To the right: "People Suck" in black font, with the words "a musical airing of grievances" in white font inside an orange rectangle.

A hilarious musical A hilarious musical

that points a finger at terrible people doing annoying things.

Home Events Performance TOFringe: People Suck: a musical airing of grievances

TOFringe: People Suck: a musical airing of grievances

From Wednesday, July 2 to Saturday, July 12, 2025 – Megnpete Make Cool Stuff’s award-winning People Suck: a musical airing of grievances returns to the Toronto Fringe as part of the New Canadian Musicals showcase specially curated by the Alliance for Canadian Musicals. This production includes new songs, new laughs and the same terrible people – running at Theatre Passe Muraille.

Get ready to air your grievances through musical therapy

This hilarious and all-too-relatable musical theatre song cycle* dares to ask the question: WT*A*F is wrong with humanity?

Irreverent and insightful, People Suck is a rollercoaster ride of 18 original, memorable songs that moves from light-and-pithy to dark-and-unflinching with startling ease – pointing the finger at the most annoying people in our lives, including ourselves. It includes songs like “Where the Hell is Darwin When You Need Him?”, a beautiful lament on the imminent breakdown of society; the tender, heartfelt ballad “When I See You Smile (I Want To Kill You)”; and the definitely not-safe-for-kindergarten-class singalong “Some People Are A**holes!”. Audiences can expect to laugh, and squirm, as we are all reminded with sharp accuracy that “stopping sucking starts with you.”

“We’re thrilled to be bringing the show back to Toronto! When we originally wrote People Suck back in 2015, we didn’t realize just how sucky the world would soon become.”

— Peter Cavell, writer, composer and musical director of People Suck

The breakout hit of the 2015 Toronto Fringe returns!

People Suck’s premiere at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2015 was a sold-out hit, winning Best of Fringe, Patron’s Pick and the Ed Mirvish Entrepreneurial Award. Following successful runs in Canada and two acclaimed productions in Melbourne, Australia – stealing audiences’ hearts (and sanity) – the production is coming home to Toronto by popular demand! Expanded and developed over the last 10 years, it now offers even more laughs, cringe-worthy truths and musical catharsis.

“There is an inherent catharsis in making art when surrounded by the dumpster fire that is humanity in 2025. We may not be able to change the actual people, but at least we can use punch-up humour to commiserate. And when we laugh together, we feel less alone.”

— Megan Phillips, writer and cast member of People Suck

Written by the dynamic writing duo Peter Cavell (veteran Second City musical director) and Megan Phillips (The Anxiety Show and Fringe stalwart), this production is directed by Jessica Sherman (Dear Evan Hansen), with music direction by Peter Cavell and choreography by Kelsey Howatt. The cast features performers from Come From Away, Evil Dead and Avenue Q: Liana Bdéwi, Chris Johnson, Michelle Nash, Megan Phillips and David Silvestri.

“Clever and ruthless […] All the judgmental and damning thoughts we all hold in our heads are let free through the writing of Phillips and Cavell, and it’s so damn relieving.”

– Theatre Travels

* A song cycle is a collection of songs based on a theme.

Five actors, two men & three women, peering up over the divider of a mustard yellow washroom stall into the stall next door. All have variations of a surprised expression or reacation on their faces.

(Photo credits: David Silvestri, Chris Johnson, Megan Phillips, Michelle Nash & Liana Bdewi in People Suck: a musical airing of grievances. Photo by Kristy Boyce.)

 

Event details

Presented by: Megnpete Make Cool Stuff 

Type of event: musical theatre performance

Written by: Megan Phillips & Peter Cavell 

Directed by: Jessica Sherman 

Music direction by: Peter Cavell

Choreography by: Kelsey Howatt

Cast: Liana Bdéwi, Chris Johnson, Michelle Nash, Megan Phillips & David Silvestri. Read about the cast here.

Dates & times: Performances take place throughout the Toronto Fringe Festival – which runs from Wednesday, July 2 to Sunday, July 13, 2025 – at various times and dates:

  • Wednesday, July 2 @ 3:45 PM ET
  • Friday, July 4 @ 9:30 PM ET
  • Sunday, July 6 @ 7:00 PM ET
  • Monday, July 7 @ 3:00 PM ET
  • Tuesday, July 8 @ 7:00 PM ET
  • Thursday, July 10 @ 3:30 PM ET
  • Saturday, July 12 @ 6:00 PM ET

Please note: Latecomers will only be admitted into the theatre within the first 15 minutes of the performance. Re-entry will not be permitted.

Duration: 90 minutes (no intermission)

Cost: C$15.00 plus fees, with discounts for kids and pass holders

Location: Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 2P3

Booking link: Book your tickets here.

Contact details: Megnpete Make Cool Stuff; Contact form, peoplesuckmusical.com

 

Content warning: For audiences 14+. Sexual content & mature language.

Accessibility: This is a wheelchair accessible venue with accessible washrooms. More info on Theatre Passe Muraille’s accessibility here.