The Toxic Avenger roars into the Shakes.

Posted on by Thor

I went to a dress rehearsal for the Central Florida premiere of The Toxic Avenger Musical!

The show featured a live rock band on stage behind the action!

Greater Orlando Actors Theatre is bringing this hilarious musical comedy to the stage.  The show has mature content and may not be appropriate for children.

Armed with superhuman strength and a heart as big as Newark, Melvin Ferd The Third (Adam McCabe) is out to save New Jersey, end global warming and woo the prettiest, blindest librarian in town. Don’t miss The Toxic Avenger live on stage! It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before. The Toxic Avenger is based on the 1985 classic cult film from Troma Studios and features music and lyrics by David Bryan with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro.

I’m a sucker for a musical and this show features me home state of New Jersey being slimmed by the rich and sleazy Manhattan. When Melvin is thrown in a vat of toxic green sludge, he becomes the super human but malformed Toxic Avenger. The only girl who could love this misshapen beast with an eye ball on his cheek would be the blind librarian, Sarah (Jillian Gizzi). She does an amazing job of being sexy, funny and always facing the wrong way when speaking to someone. This has to be every single guys fantasy, to be loved by a girl who is blind his flaws. In many ways, the show reminded me of “Little Shop of Horrors” with the geek suddenly getting his every desire. Though the Avenger won the love of his girl he could not let her touch him for fear that she would discover just how malformed he was.

As the show was being rehearsed, the set was still being painted. A former student of mine, Megan was busy painting a stone facade along with Julia Gagne on the stage. My favorite song had to be, “Bitch, Bitch, slut, slut, lire, lire, whore. I find myself humming that song at the most inopportune times. Being an in it in, run through in the theatre there were a few staging mishaps, but even those were so funny that they added to the shows entertainment value. There was plenty of gender bending and one sultry, hairy legged dame said to me, “Draw like one of your French girls” as she-he, walked up the aisle on a break.   This show is as entertaining as a bounce house full of kids in from of a strip club. Don’t miss it!

STARRING: Leesa Castaneda – Mayor Babs Belgoody/Ma Ferd/Nun
Adam DelMedico, White Dude
Daniel Martinez, Ethnic Dude

Director, Jay Levy
Musical Director, Theresa Leigh Smith-Levin,
Choreographer – Shawn Michael Lowe,
Producer – Paul Castaneda.

The remaining show times are January 15,19, 20, 21 and 22, 2017 at 8pm in the
Lowndes Shakespeare Complex in the Mandell Theatre (812 E Rollins St.
Orlando, Fl. 32803). For tickets go to www.goatgroup.tix.com or call
407-990-1887.

Grimmly Ever After at the Shakespeare Theater.

Posted on by Thor

I went to the final dress rehearsal for Grimmly Ever After at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803).  Theresa Leigh Smith-Levin, had invited me to sketch. She greeted me warmly when she arrived. There was a hectic energy as the actors got changed on costumes in the green room. On stage, a large swath of fabric was cut in half and then used to cover two music stands at stage left and right. It is from these stands that the brothers Grimm would introduce the various tales. 

The actors rehearseda dance number, before a full run through of the show. The female dancers had to do a move that involved reaching behind their dance partner’s neck and lifting the is right foot elegantly back. The male dancer would the n lift her and spin clockwise making her seem to float and slowly spin. It took quite a few takes to get the more down. Music came for a piano, played live. The piano player would have to be stopped periodically to redo the dancing sequence. This was the first to the choreographer got a good feel for the live music’s timing.

Rumpelstiltskin was a miller who was poor, but who had a
beautiful daughter. Now it happened that he had to go and speak to the
king, and in order to make himself appear important he said to him, “I
have a daughter who can spin straw into gold.” His daughter sang a long song about the impossible task of spinning straw in to gold.  With each tale, the brothers would turn to the audience and offer two possible scenarios that the tale could follow. The voting among the production staff in the audience was done to hilarious effect. 

At one point, a prosthetic amputated arm was thrown on stage, and a princes tried to hide it in her apron pocket. The fingers kept getting caught in the pocket which caused her to struggle which was hilarious, weather it was planned or not. Theresa was laughing in front of me and her laughter was contagious. I had a blast watching the first half of the show. Unfortunately I had to sprint off during the intermission 1 see a McRae Art Studios group show at Maxine’s on Shine (337 Shine Ave, Orlando, FL 32803). I’m glad I went, there were friends, a bit of wine tasting, and plenty of good art. 

Grimmly Ever After runs

November 11 – November 20

Nov 11 at 7:30 PM to Nov 20 at 5 PM

at the John & Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center

812 E Rollins St, Orlando, Florida 32803

Tickets are available online.