House of Gold: The Musical

Brighter Dark Theatre—MTYP – Mainstage

Brighter Dark Theatre returns to the Fringe with House of Gold: The Musical, adapting their 2024 comedy into a musical production. It’s a natural evolution for a show built on exaggerated personalities, rapid-fire jokes, and gleefully dysfunctional family dynamics. The production retains the original’s outlandish ensemble while giving fans of the previous version something new to enjoy. If the original already flirted with absurdity, adding musical numbers is simply the logical progression.

The songs amplify the show’s already heightened world, and by the end it’s difficult to imagine the story without them.

As is often the case with Fringe musicals, the sound mix struggled to keep the vocals above the accompaniment on opening night, leaving many of the lyrics difficult to make out; an unfortunate drawback in a production where clever writing is one of its greatest strengths. While the score includes several enjoyable numbers, none quite emerge as the kind of unforgettable showstopper that would elevate the production beyond its already solid foundation.

Those who loved the original production will find plenty to enjoy in its musical iteration, while newcomers have another opportunity to discover one of Winnipeg Fringe’s most ridiculous families an octave above what they might have seen in 2024.

Ashley Frantik