What I liked
A toxic night full of laughter and fun! The live band was PHENOMENAL. Such a rare treat! One rarely gets to enjoy live music in musicals.
What I didn't like
Nada
My overall impression
The costumes were beautiful and perfect. Even the white guy and black guy who wore a dozen different costumes all had full images.
The minimal set pieces fit in just fine. The performances were captivating enough that I didn’t need big set pieces.
Toxie – Jared Reed – I was blown away with the polarization of character between “Melvin” and “Toxie”. I don’t know “Toxic Avenger” well. But I can only guess that in most productions these parts are played by different actors. If you’re lucky enough to have Jared Reed, thats all you need. His singing voice was spectacular. His acting on point. He somehow makes you fall in love with the toxic slime mutant he becomes. Wonderful!
Mayor / Ma – Shirley Hatton – She may have been older than her fellow cast mates. But BOY did she bring the passion to all her roles. Her first number as the mayor has wonderful comedic timing. She gets a chance to shine in a number where she plays both the Mayor and The Ma, essentially doing several quick changes and finally finishing the song dressed as both characters. I’d never witnessed anything like that in musical theatre history. WELL DONE!
Sarah – Kim Dalton – What a DOLL! This petite powerhouse plays a convincing blind ingenue. Her simplistic take on the character brings the audience to roaring laughter with her perfect delivery of her “Punch lines”. You need to see this show, if not only to hear her fantastic vocal range. Her top notes in her solo songs increased my heart rate. So exciting!
White Dude / Black Dude – Wesley Tunison & Danny Fetter – Really the heart & Soul of the show. The three leads are fantastic, but these guys add the color and magic to this goopy fictional town. Their range in characters and singing is second to none. They play hot girls, punk bullies, crazy doctors, police officers. I was always thrilled when they came out.
A SPECIAL MENTION – The Assistant Stage Manager – Rebecca Schroeder – was a stand out in her own special way. She made an appearance each time to do a set change or to remove / give a prop. Her sassy attitude and frequent participation provided a multi dimensional element to the show. The audience ate her up. Whoever developed this idea was genius. I thought she may have actually been a character…but no…just a talented ASM!
I recommend this. GO SEE IT!
