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Galen's Grocer: The Musical

 
Nicholas Abrams Review by Nicholas Abrams 3 Published: 3 Jul 2026 16 Ryerson Ave Show Dates: 3 Jul 2026-12 Jul 2026

If there's one thing I've learnt after a week at the Toronto Fringe, it's that local references can be a dangerous thing. When an audience erupts into laughter and you're the only one still trying to work out who everyone is talking about, you quickly realise you've wandered into someone else's in-joke. Galen's Grocer occasionally falls into that trap – but for Canadian audiences, I suspect that's part of the fun.

Canadian satire with plenty of charm

Officially, this musical has absolutely nothing to do with billionaire supermarket magnate Galen Weston. Instead, it follows the entirely fictional Galen Easton, the country's most hated grocery boss, who attempts to rehabilitate his image by starring in his own television sitcom about life behind the checkout. It's a premise that gleefully satirises corporate PR, celebrity culture and the disconnect between billionaires and ordinary shoppers, all wrapped up in an hour of musical comedy.

The sitcom framing works well, allowing the production to bounce between rehearsals, television scenes and increasingly absurd plot twists. Eventually, Galen becomes convinced he's uncovered the mysterious CEO killer, only for events to descend into a gloriously nonsensical finale involving billionaire friends represented by puppets. It's ridiculous, but the show never pretends otherwise.

Thomas Sharpe is comfortably the standout performer. His Galen is pompous, self-absorbed and oddly endearing all at once, with enough vocal ability to carry the score and the comic timing to keep even the more outlandish scenes grounded. The supporting cast throw themselves enthusiastically into multiple roles, although, vocally, the performances are a little more mixed.

The songs are enjoyable without ever becoming especially memorable. James Atin's score hops between different musical styles – musical theatre, rap and pop among them – which gives the show an energy that stops it becoming repetitive. It also feels slightly nostalgic, recalling a time in the 2010s when musicals delighted in throwing every genre into the mix simply because they could.

The choreography serves the comedy well enough, though it's functional rather than particularly inventive. That's true of much of the production: everything is perfectly likeable without ever quite reaching the next level.

For international audiences, the biggest hurdle is context. Much of the humour relies on an understanding of Canadian politics, supermarkets and corporate scandals, and while enough translates to keep outsiders entertained, it's clear many of the biggest laughs belong to those already in on the joke. Judging by the audience around me, Canadians were having a wonderful time.

Galen's Grocer is an amiable, good-natured musical with an engaging central performance and plenty of charm. It may not leave you humming the songs on the way home, but it offers an enjoyable hour – and one that feels very much made by Canadians, for Canadians.

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The Blurb:

A brand new musical adaptation of Fringe TO's sold-out, award-winning play: Galen's Grocer! Galen Easton is the most hated man in Canada. It doesn't help that there's a CEO Killer on the loose. Galen needs to improve his public image fast. He'll try by making a TV sitcom about how hard it is to run a grocery store: Galen's Grocer