Sometimes at the Fringe, it’s harder to decide what you don’t want to see than what you do. Not this year though — thanks to our handy, cherry-picked top-10 best-bet guide. We legally guarantee that if you see any of these shows, you’ll be amply rewarded. If not, you can find us at the beer tent, so take your ill-considered arguments there. For reviews of every single play 24 hours after its opening and daily blog updates during the festival, check the Fringe mini-site and the Toronto Notes blog at eyeweekly.com.

DAMAGES
From the Dept. of Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is comes Damages, the first Fringe show by Globe and Mail arts writer and critic Michael Posner. The play (it says here) is a searing drama about the Holocaust that will “keep you guessing.” July 4, 8:45pm; July 5, 9:15pm; July 6, 5:15pm; July 8, 3:15pm; July 9, 12:15pm; July 10, 9:15pm; July 12, 3:30pm. George Ignatieff, 15 Devonshire.
 
DIE ROTEN PUNKTE: SUPER MUSIKANT
Germany’s gonzo boy/girl rockers return to the Fringe for more songs, more Eurotrash parodies and more (if last year’s show was anything to go by) unexpected onstage vomiting. July 5, 7:30pm; July 6, 8:15pm; July 7, 1pm; July 9, 2:15pm; July 10, 11:30pm; July 11, noon; July 12, 6:15pm Tarragon Mainspace, 30 Bridgman.

THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF ANTOINE FEVAL
Thank goodness — last week, after missing out on the Fringe lottery, last year’s EYE WEEKLY cover star Chris Gibbs (pictured) finally found a venue for his new show. If Further Adventures — another part-improvised story featuring the criminal mastermind (and occasional detective) Antoine Feval — is even one-twelve-hundredth as good as the original, expect to see one of the fest’s best performances. July 3, 7pm; July 4, 1:45pm; July 6, 5:15pm; July 8, 10:45pm; July 10, noon; July 11, 9:15pm; July 13, 3:30pm. Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse, 79A St George.

LADYLIKE
Toronto playwright/controversialist Sky Gilbert’s new one-act play starring the (as the program puts it) “very sexy chick-with-a-dick” Nina Arsenault is highly unlikely to be dull, at the very least. July 2, 6pm; July 3, 6pm; July 4, 6pm; July 5, 6pm; July 6, 6pm; July 7, 6pm; July 8, 6pm; July 9, 6pm; July 10, 6pm; July 11, 6pm; July 12, 6pm. Fringe Club at The Transac, 292 Brunswick.

MR. FOX
Greg Landucci’s earthy monologue Dishpig was a highlight of last year’s fest, so let’s hope his new one-man show, Mr. Fox, a behind-the-scenes look at a rock radio station, keeps up the trend. TJ Dawe directs. July 4, 5:30pm; July 5, 12:15pm; July 6, 9:15pm; July 8, 6:45pm; July 9, 8pm; July 11, 11:15pm; July 12, 1:45pm. Factory Studio, 125 Bathurst.

NURSERY SCHOOL MUSICAL
Every year at the Fringe there’s a nerdy joke musical, every year the critics slag it off royally and every year the public buy their tickets in droves. Here’s this year’s effort, helmed by always-dependable Second City’ers Paul Constable and Sandy Jobin-Bevans. July 4, 7pm; July 5, noon; July 7, 6:45pm; July 9, 11pm; July 10, 9:15pm; July 12, 2:15pm; July 13, 1:45pm. Factory Theatre Mainspace, 125 Bathurst.

PUTZ
Lesbians, Woody Allen comparisons and psychiatry jokes? We’re in. Starring Phil Hartman nominee Andrew Bailey, and directed by Jacob Richmond (who also helmed last year’s audience favourite Legoland), Putz is one of the festival’s most promising sight-unseens. July 3, 10pm; July 5, 8pm; July 6, noon; July 7, 6:30pm; July 10, 11pm; July 11, 2:15pm; July 12, 5:15pm. Tarragon Extra Space, 30 Bridgman.

RUM AND VODKA
A new show from the well-reviewed Cart/Horse Theatre troupe, focusing on a “sex and alcohol-fuelled weekend in the company of a young everyman facing a swift and significant fall from grace.” July 2, 8:45pm; July 5, 2:15pm; July 6, 9:15pm; July 7, 3pm; July 11, 11:30pm; July 12, noon. July 13, 9pm. Tarragon Extra Space, 30 Bridgman.
 
THE THREE MAGIC WISHES
Don’t be afraid of checking in on the KidsVenue at Palmerston library — especially for The Three Magic Wishes, from the team (including stand-ups Kathleen Phillips and Katie Crown) who brought you 2006’s five-starred Three Billy Goats Gruff. Bring the kids, too, if you can be bothered. July 3, 4pm; July 4, 6:30pm; July 5, 11:30am; July 6, 2:45pm; July 8, 11am; July 9, 4:15pm; July 11, 11am; July 12, 7:30pm. KidsVenue at Palmerston Library, 560 Palmerston.

WAKE
Three brothers reunite for their father’s funeral, but who was responsible for separating them in the first place? Rachel Blair’s script for Wake was the winner of the 2008 Fringe New Play Contest. July 3, 8:15pm; July 5, 9:45pm; July 6, 1:45pm; July 8, 10:45pm; July 9, 6pm; July 10, 3:30pm; July 11, 6:15pm. Tarragon Extra Space, 30 Bridgman.

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