'Toxic Avenger' musical wastes your time

By Christine Jeon     1/17/12 6:00pm

As an avid theatergoer, I was intrigued and amused when I heard that Toxic Avenger, an action figure from the silver screen, was about to show off his superpowers on the musical stage. Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, who collaborated on the Tony Award-winning musical Memphis, wrote the book and music for The Toxic Avenger Musical.

The Toxic Avenger was originally a 1984 Lloyd Kaufman film about a geek (Melvin Ferd III) who acquired superhuman strength (and a deformed face) after being thrown into toxic waste by bullies. Despite Melvin's gruesome looks, the town accepted him as their almighty protector, dubbing him the "Toxic Avenger."

I was more than curious to see how director John Rando (Urinetown) would transform this superhero film into a musical. Unfortunately, the show had nothing new to offer audience members, much like other overdone, commercialized musicals, like Spider-Man.

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DiPietro and Bryan's script and score seem to poke fun at the original Toxic Avenger. I was yearning for unmatched levels of irony and sarcasm. Unfortunately, all I received was an endless tally of stale jokes stereotyping every character in the book–geeks, bullies, politicians, cops, the elderly, the blind, African-Americans and hair stylists. Not to mention that an unfortunate injury mid-play caused a 10-minute halt that was soon followed up by a 15-minute intermission. I was finally able to leave the Alley Theater two and a half hours later.

The acting of the five-member cast wasn't half bad. Constantine Maroulis (from the fourth season of American Idol) did a wonderful job bringing a touch of geekiness and fragility to the mutant monster. Mara Davi (A Chorus Line) played Melvin's love interest, the blind but sweet Sarah. The over-emphasis of her more humorous lines, however, made her sound contrived and the jokes, predictable.

Nancy Opel (Memphis), who played the mayor and Ma Ferd, hilariously switched in and out of costume in a number in which her two characters performed a duet. Mitchell Jarvis ("White Guy") and Antoine L. Smith ("Black Dude") also garnered big laughs with their multiple portrayals as cops, backup singers and hairdressers.

The set design and the stage's rotational platform were artistically clever, but the overuse of green lights and special effects made the set-up of Tromaville over the top.

The music, mostly blunt pop-rock songs, was a repeat of what Memphis had to offer. Despite the cast's outstanding vocals, the only member who seemed to bring truth and conviction to each song was Maroulis. The rest of the cast nailed each number technically, but Maroulis brought something more: He delivered innocence and pain to his character's vocal pledge that ignited the character of Toxic Avenger. His vocal performance was by far the highlight of the show.

With your student ID, you can watch this performance for $15. I was surprised to hear that tickets for this underwhelming show cost up to $63. Talk about a waste.

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