Toronto Fringe Review: The Crack of Doom (or: How I Learned to Love the Meteor)

Photo by Blake Crawford featuring Krizia Natale, Nicole Sherwin, Cade DeBorba, Jawon Mapp, Ben Page, Grace Rockett, Danick McCormack, and Rayhan Jabbar

In development since 2018, The Crack of Doom! is an apocalyptic comedy musical about a group of university students who attend a mixer/potluck for students without a home on Thanksgiving. But the night takes a tragic turn when the news breaks that a meteor is on a collision course for earth, and they have just an hour or so to live.

The story was juggling quite a bit — with a rather large cast all set in one location playing out in real time. But writer Matt Bernard never tripped up and was able to effectively move the story between songs with clever set ups and witty dialogue in an engaging way. The script was well executed with charming and charismatic performances that were rounded out with heart.

Between the Music & Lyrics coming from Suzy Wilde, and the musical direction of Jake Schindler, the songs were not only well put together, but had some ambitious arrangements that paid off. 

It was the perfect marriage between a farce with expertly crafted songs, the composition of the show was a delightful experience with absolutely no low points.

The show’s cast was able to take on this show head on with charming performances from everyone. While everyone had a shining moment, favourite moments came from Rayhan Jabbar as the comedic engine of the show and Grace Rockett for bringing down the house with her killer vocals.

From its opening song, The Crack of Doom! is a fun show that sets the bar for how great a Fringe musical can be. While they’re not shy about letting you know that everyone dies at the end, the ending still holds some twists that will make for a surprising, heartfelt ending.

The Crack of Doom (or: How I Learned to Love the Meteor) is on now until July 17 as part of the 2022 Toronto Fringe Festival. Find show times and tickets here.