Last Metro: The Musical

Last Metro: The Musical, written by Kelly Walker, Holly Brace-Lavoie and Lori Walker; directed by Kelly Walker

I'm a nomad at heart. I confess that I live and breathe the fast-paced urban journey from suburb to city, from Point A to Point B, all on a daily basis. That's why it shouldn't be a surprise that Last Metro: The Musical stood out as one of my first picks to watch at this year's Fringe Fest. 

It starts off at Lionel-Groulx Metro Station with a scene of people running around to line up and get to their respective trains. Accompanied by a live acoustic band playing in the background, the passengers become the focal point as you hear their voices and personal stories get told through song. After all this is a musical—a musical with tunes that are totally earworm-worthy. 

The characters are quite reminiscent of people you see in your average commute, from the pair of twenty-something best friends chatting up a storm, to a pair of über-religious guys in need of recruiting new converts. There's the scary and stressed out office lady running late for a meeting outside her 9-to-5 job, a pair of high school misfits who seem to cause trouble, and there's the poor dude desperate to get home, watch TV and chill out with his cat. 

Now with a dash of local flavour added to the mix, put these folks all together for an extensively long and abruptly delayed train ride on the Orange Line, and you're in for a comedic delight that does a great job poking fun at the little things we take for granted when we interact with strangers. Last Metro absolutely lived up to that premise, in a very humble, light-hearted and subtly melodic manner. 

Sometimes forty-five minutes may seem to be a very long subway ride, but after you see this musical, you'll definitely want to stick around for more and maybe belt out a few songs for yourself.

Last Metro: The Musical is written by Kelly Walker, Holly Brace-Lavoie and Lori Walker; and directed by Kelly Walker; it was produced by Broken Banjo. You can catch it this week at Le Cabaret du Mile End at 5240 Avenue du Parc, a twenty minute bus ride on the 80 Bus from Place-des-Arts Metro Station. Shows on Tuesday June 17th at 9:30pm, Wednesday June 18th at 11:15pm, Saturday June 21st at 6:00pm, and Sunday June 22nd at 2:15pm. 

--Saturn De Los Angeles hosts Shibuya Crossing every Wednesday at 1:00PM on CJLO.