{"data":{"id":"d034c8a2-a099-4fe2-b63b-3c113037b07f","originKind":"SYNDICATED","title":"Fringe Review: A Hellmark Christmas Musical has the hallmarks of a fantastic Fringe show","summary":"A Hellmark Christmas Musical\n\n4.5 Stars (out of 5)\n\nStage 18, The Luther Centre, 10014 81 Ave.\n\nYou all know the story, right? A small town girl moves to the big city to start her career, becomes successful and then circumstances force her back to her hometown to confront family drama, unrequited love and then the bodies start piling up?\n\nOK, maybe that last part is not as familiar.\n\nBut like all good Hallmark Christmas movies this musical parody has heart. Plus a lot of humour. Not to mention hilariously cartoonish violence.\n\nThe Hallmark Christmas parody musical starts with Krystal Frost, who made it from her small, holiday-tinged village to the great metropolis of St. Albert (many laughs), when her megalomaniacal boss realizes that she has familial ties to a town from which he wants to extract natural and perhaps magical resources. He sends crystal and Gen Z influencer Bexley (short for Jennifer — again, many laughs) to help sweet-talk them.\n\nAlong the way, she has to confront hunky lumberjack Evan (of COURSE there’s a hot lumberjack) and her mother Joy, and then violence ensues as a deeper conspiracy is unveiled.\n\nDarkstage Productions, the team behind past fringe musicals as Pair of Guys Lost, and Voldemort & The Teenage Hogwarts Musical, have really stuck the landing on this one.\n\nWith book and music by David Son, the parody is whip-smart. The jokes are fast and furious and the cast is full of dynamite singers — Francesca Scarpella as Krystal and Mana Middleton as Bexley are standouts. And there are hilariously scene-stealing turns from Jeremy Zimmerman as the Krystal’s Boss, Sebastian and Andrew Cormier as Nutmeg, the troll-like brother of Evan.\n\nThis parody has all the hallmarks of a gosh-darned Christmas show (the language used in the play is a touch saltier) and all the hallmarks of a fringe hit.\n\nRelated Fringe Review: Erika MacDonald turns tea into an absurdist metaphor\n\nFringe Review: Beach to the Future is pure Fringe fun\n\nBookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.\n\nYou can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.","url":"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/fringe-review-a-hellmark-christmas-musical","imageUrl":"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/hellmark_304712703.jpg","publishedAt":"2026-08-14T19:29:38.000Z","sourceLabel":"Edmonton Journal Music","tags":["Entertainment","Festivals","Local Arts","Theatre"],"authorName":"Dave Breakenridge","contentHtml":"<img alt=\"A Hellmark Christmas Musical, at the Edmonton Fringe Festival\" src=\"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/hellmark_304712703.jpg\" title=\"A Hellmark Christmas Musical, at the Edmonton Fringe Festival\" /><p> <strong>A Hellmark Christmas Musical</strong> </p><p> <strong>4.5 Stars (out of 5)</strong> </p><p> <strong>Stage 18, The Luther Centre, 10014 81 Ave.</strong> </p><p> You all know the story, right? A small town girl moves to the big city to start her career, becomes successful and then circumstances force her back to her hometown to confront family drama, unrequited love and then the bodies start piling up? </p><p> OK, maybe that last part is not as familiar. </p><p> But like all good Hallmark Christmas movies this musical parody has heart. Plus a lot of humour. Not to mention hilariously cartoonish violence. </p><p> The Hallmark Christmas parody musical starts with Krystal Frost, who made it from her small, holiday-tinged village to the great metropolis of St. Albert (many laughs), when her megalomaniacal boss realizes that she has familial ties to a town from which he wants to extract natural and perhaps magical resources. He sends crystal and Gen Z influencer Bexley (short for Jennifer — again, many laughs) to help sweet-talk them. </p><p> Along the way, she has to confront hunky lumberjack Evan (of COURSE there’s a hot lumberjack) and her mother Joy, and then violence ensues as a deeper conspiracy is unveiled. </p><p> Darkstage Productions, the team behind past fringe musicals as Pair of Guys Lost, and Voldemort &amp; The Teenage Hogwarts Musical, have really stuck the landing on this one. </p><p> With book and music by David Son, the parody is whip-smart. The jokes are fast and furious and the cast is full of dynamite singers — Francesca Scarpella as Krystal and Mana Middleton as Bexley are standouts. And there are hilariously scene-stealing turns from Jeremy Zimmerman as the Krystal’s Boss, Sebastian and Andrew Cormier as Nutmeg, the troll-like brother of Evan. </p><p> This parody has all the hallmarks of a gosh-darned Christmas show (the language used in the play is a touch saltier) and all the hallmarks of a fringe hit. </p><h2>Related</h2><ul><li><a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/fringe-review-erika-macdonald-turns-tea-into-an-absurdist-metaphor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Fringe Review: Erika MacDonald turns tea into an absurdist metaphor</a></li><li><a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/fringe-review-beach-to-the-future-is-pure-fringe-fun\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Fringe Review: Beach to the Future is pure Fringe fun</a></li></ul><p> <strong>Bookmark our website and support our journalism:</strong><em>Don’t miss the news you need to know — add <a href=\"http://edmontonjournal.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">EdmontonJournal.com</a> and <a href=\"http://edmontonsun.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">EdmontonSun.com</a> to your bookmarks and <a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/newsletters/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">sign up for our newsletters here.</a></em> </p><p> <em>You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: <a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/subscribe/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Edmonton Journal</a> | <a href=\"https://edmontonsun.com/subscribe/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Edmonton Sun.</a></em> </p>","slug":"fringe-review-a-hellmark-christmas-musical-has-the-hallmarks-of-a-fantastic-fringe-show","publicPath":"/news/2026-08-14-fringe-review-a-hellmark-christmas-musical-has-the-hallmarks-of-a-fantastic-fringe-show"}}