Toronto – I’m not usually one to go to plays or musicals, usually that type of stuff is reserved for our resident theatre critic (and lover of the Sunparlour Players) Brian, however, he is off narrating court proceedings in the Hague, so it was time for me to big it up and step in. The musical I was going to see is called The Toxic Avenger, and it’s based on a cult classic b movie of the same name from the 80s. The play is directed by a bunch of people I don’t know and stars a lot of people I’ve never heard of, lets not get into details about them here. I am just going to put their names here and link to their web pages because this kind of back-linking is good for search engines. So it starred Louis Pitre, Evan Alexander Smith, Brittany Gray, Jamie McKnight (no website?) and Daren Herbert. The latter two names played about 20 characters, or as they call it in showbiz terms, they ‘eddie murphied’ it. I just made that up.
Plot wise, Toxic Avenger is kind of like Captain Planet, only without the kids or the superhero. Basically, it’s not like that show, aside from it has some environmental messages in it. I don’t really want to spoil it for you, but there is some guy who is known as the ‘Toxic Avenger’. There are elements of humor, action and romance. The show is kind of politically incorrect, as jokes are leveled at handicap, elderly, gays and ugly people. However, the jokes are harmless and don’t really differ from your everyday conversations anyway.
So, how was the show? Well, I enjoyed it. For someone who never goes to these things, I definitely had a good time. The music was very 80ish (I think it was composed by someone that had to do with Bon Jovi) and some of the numbers could have been substituted for a Tiffany song for sure. I don’t have any sort of reference for how music is at musicals, but I imagine most music at musicals have very clear and obvious lyrical meanings and not some vague Thom Yorkesque words. The songs got the point across, I would have liked a little bit more variety in the music, but I guess it added to the campy feel of the show.
The show was about 100 minutes long, and there was no intermission. This didn’t bother me as I didn’t know there was intermission. If there was one, that would have made me go buy alcohol and since there wasn’t one, I saved myself a good five dollars. I always enjoy saving five dollars.
The stage setup was impressive and there were a lot of transforming things on there that was cool. I’m sure most stage sets are like this, but still cool. The Danforth Music Hall has really done a nice job renovating. The seats are comfy and it looks very respectable now. I was last here for the Arcade Fire show, and well, lets just say it didn’t look the greatest at that time. Now the paint job is clean, it appears that they have a new sound systems and the bathrooms are nice and modern. In case you were wondering, I had a Lamb Gyro from Messini’s before the show. Does anyone know why they put french fries in their gyros?
In conclusion – as a non theatre fan going into the show, I can honestly say a enjoyed the show. It was like watching a really low budget movie in 3d. There were moments where I laughed and moments where I cried*. The acting was good (especially the black dude and the older lady) and yeah, what can I say..go check it out.
Toxic Avengers will be playing until January 3. Buy tickets here
* complete lie, but sounds good on paper.
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Horaayy..there are 5 comment(s) for me so far ;)
Man, I’m glad you enjoyed the show, but regular theatre reviewer or not, I totally would not have gone to Toxic Avenger. Much as I like theatre, big stupid musicals are just not my thing.
Except maybe for the occasional Rodgers & Hammerstein. Or Gilbert & Sullivan. BUT THAT’S ALL.
Going to see the show tonite! Heard great things.
They put fries in the gyro because that’s how they do it in Greece :)
For Brian.
Some musicals you might like – Carmen Jones, Carousel, The Music Man, A Star is Born (Judy Garland version), any Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film, Rose, South Pacific, and the list goes on. Musicals can be frustrating sometimes when the characters suddenly burst into song, but more often that not the song is intergral to the plot. Also many times, a simple song can say more that straight text since the musical accompaniment accentuates the mood (happy,sad,etc.). Have you been to the teledirect broadcasts of the operas from the Metrol;pitain Opera ion New York? Try it – its fabulous. You do yourself a disfavour in denying yourself the joy of the musical world.
Good suggestions, Frank. I did see a production of South Pacific several years ago and loved it. I’ve seen Carousel, The Music Man, and did see a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie but it was some time ago. I keep trying to convince people to go to a movie theatre with me when they’re doing one of the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts from New York, but haven’t yet been successful. Operas and musicals are not really the same thing to me, and movies kind of another thing again. There’s a lot of stuff I’d go see before going to something like Toxic Avenger.
Incredible performances, I am so glad I went to see this show! It was a wonderful ride and the songs were so good and funny. I am not usually a musical goer, but this production turned around my thoughts on that. The actors were just off the charts, and their voices utterly awesome. Go see this play and be prepared to be entertained and laugh. Is the soundtrack availble anywhere? 10/10