Sam’s Clam & Oyster Bar
FOH Pro Stage at the Luther Centre
4 Stars
There’s a lot to like in Sam’s Clam & Oyster Bar, starting with murder, mythology, romance and revenge. The non-stop maritime adventure continues with a zany barroom brawl, clam addiction and a seduction behind the bar.
As the lights go down, patrons are introduced to a deadly storm rocking a fishing boat. The fishermen know they are doomed. Just before Poseidon climbs aboard with his trident, Captain Trout puts his baby son into a wooden chest and tosses him into the waves before the ship sinks to its watery grave.
Fast forward and a Trout descendant has moved to Salmon, Idaho to open a seafood, clam and oyster bar. After telling his grandson, Sam (Nico Majorana), a fishy tale about his ancestors, grandpa keels over dead.
Sam inherits the bar and proceeds to chart a course for survival. His problems spike from a business takeover by Cowboy Cam (Ethan Lang) to desperately searching for a new clam supplier. While at first the new clam supplier (Sam Daly) is friendly towards Sam, he morphs into a slippery eel with a hidden agenda.
This musical parody features a large ensemble cast including three St. Albert actors: Daly, Marshall Eglinski as a line cook Dan and Ben Healey as Grandpa and Long Armed Man. Sarah Kyle in the role of Pearl displays powerful vocals as Sam’s romantic interest, even as Ali Balloun takes on the role of a drunk Mrs. Tucker and Astrid Deibert fills in as Paulie.
This delightfully wacky parody is about everything and nothing. It never lets the pace slow down and is packed with non-stop action and silly twists and turns that keep the audience guessing.
