- Acting
- Writing
- Directing
- Production Values
- Enjoyment
The Toxic Avenger is a comedy musical based on a low budget movie made in 1984. Melvin Ferd III is a lonely nerd that thanks to exposure to radioactive sludge becomes the Toxic Avenger, a deformed vigilante. This show does not feature the resident Alley Company, but instead stars the touring off-Broadway cast.
I honestly didn’t have the highest hopes for this show. I didn’t know how the movie would translate and I’m not the biggest fan of musicals. I was very pleasantly surprised. The story works, the songs are funny, and the cast is a delight. Although there are many characters, there are only five actors in the cast. Three of the actors take on many roles.
It is the two ladies in the show that steal the most scenes. Mara Davi is hilarious and gorgeous as Sarah, the blind librarian that draws Melvin’s affections. Nancy Opel is great in the dual roles of Melvin’s mother and as the corrupt city mayor. Of particular delight is the scene where the mother and the mayor have to confront each other, during the song called ”Bitch/Slut/Liar/Whore“.
I found it amusing that although the audience seemed to very much enjoy the show, the lines in the show that espouse a pro-environmental message elicited silence in a Houston audience, where the smell of oil and chemicals equals the smell of money.
The Toxic Avenger runs at the Alley Theatre through February 12, and then reportedly may get a Broadway run.
