Beach to the Future: The Accidental Beach End Game

There's dumb-smart dumb-ass smart-ass genius at work in this time-travelling irresistibly bonkers finale of Grindstone's Accidental Beach trilogy ,inspired by the toxic sludge of Edmonton's toxic ever-shifting Riviera.... read the full 12thnight review!

The show is hilarious, with a special shoutout to Malicahi, who lights up every scene he’s in. I’ve seen all three installments of this Fringe series, and this was the first where I felt the singing really took a backseat to the comedy. At times, it almost seemed like the bad singing was part of the joke? Several songs referenced a certain recent green musical blockbuster and were clearly way too high for the singers. I’m sure that was the intention, but I couldn’t help thinking the joke would have landed so much better if they’d absolutely nailed the vocals while doing it. Still, a very funny show with a cast that clearly knows how to get a laugh.

Solid musical comedy packed with tons o' Edmonton references - the Grindstone Comedy crew know how to keep a show tight and laughs coming at all times. Viewing/knowledge of the previous 2 segments not needed.

Unfortunately the catastrophic audio failures throughout the show made it difficult to enjoy for me. Most of the music ended up being basically just drums, and only half the mics seemed to work half the time. A lot of jokes, lyrics, and lines were completely missed because you just couldn’t hear them.

It wasn’t nearly as good as previous shows from the same cast, though I honestly don’t know how much of that was the show itself versus the sound problems. The band was clearly doing their best despite having almost no sound for most of the performance.

Abby and Malachi are stars as always. I just wish I’d actually been able to hear the show they were performing.

Have you ever felt like the North Saskatchewan river was too gross? Well, believe it or not, it could get way worse…

In a future world where the air is sponsored, the Oilers still can’t win a game, and the pollution of the river has caused the next generation to mutate into lizard children, this amazingly entertaining comedy musical by Grindstone Theatre follows a teenaged lizard-boy named Harry as he travels back in time on a lifeguard chair to meet his father, a sea-doo riding bad boy named Razor. Mistakes and obstacles occur, and Harry has to fight to not disappear from existence, save his parents’ relationship, and “surf-vive” to see the rest of his life.

With only four cast members, they somehow managed to create a fully imagined world, with a feeling there was more space on the small stage, and more people in the ensemble supporting them. The vocals and harmonies were great, backed up by their wonderful live band, working in sync with the actors’ voices. Any mishaps were expertly covered by the actors and their lightning fast improvisational skills, making the show somehow even more entertaining.

With never ending comedy, infinite dirty jokes, and every single reference to Edmonton you could ever possibly think of, this show was snappingly funny from start to finish, the audience leaving for the night with sore faces from their laughter.

This is the (final?) sequel of the Accidental Beach saga and it was just as hilariously ridiculous as the rest! The cast is awesome and their vocals are super strong. This show has got everything! There’s a lifeguard chair time machine, a lizard boy, and one character hooks up with another version of themselves from a different timeline. The songs are so clever! I laughed my face off while I sang along. One of the best times that you can have at the Fringe!

The Grindstone is the place to go for comedy in Edmonton, especially musical comedy. It’s no surprise that with their third instalment of the Accidental Beach franchise they have hit a home run with this over the top, ridiculous time travelling tale. Curious Lizard boy (Ethan Snowden) time travels and must be rescued by his mom Sandy, played by the incredibly talented Abby Vandenberghe (former Deena Hinshaw in Hot Boy Summer). Also gracing the stage is Razor (Dallas Friesen) with his always beautiful singing and the physical hilarity that is Dr. Rogers Place played by the unmistakably hilarious Malachi Wilkins. This all star cast make Beach to the Future a must see for anyone needing to laugh at some of what makes Edmonton unique - and anyone who has been hoping to finally find a use for the talus balls.