THE TOXIC AVENGER: THE MUSICAL

January 31 - March 1, 2020
Book and Lyrics by Joe DiPietro
Music and Lyrics by David Bryan
Directed by Tracy Lynn Olivera Music Direction by Jake Null
  • Silver Spring Black Box

Rorschach Theatre’s first musical follows Melvin Ferd the Third, who is dumped into a vat of radioactive toxic waste, only to reemerge as The Toxic Avenger, a superhero hell-bent on cleaning up America. A seven-foot mutant freak with superhuman strength and a heart as big as Newark, he’s out to end global warming*, woo the blind librarian in town, and save the world.

Based on the cult classic Troma film, THE TOXIC AVENGER, and directed by Helen Hayes Award Winner Tracy Lynn Olivera, this show takes Rorschach’s one-of-a-kind aesthetic and spins it in a whole new direction.

 

 

Classic B-movie tropes of monsters-run-amok, star-crossed lovers and comically evil politicians collide with an 80’s Hair Band Rock aesthetic to tell a tale that’s both gruesome and glorious.  With a set design by Pointless Theatre Company’s Patti Kalil and video design by 9:30 Club VJ and American University professor Kylos Brannon, audiences will be immersed in the sights and sounds of the most polluted town in New Jersey: “If the pollution doesn’t kill you, the aroma will.”

* We won’t make you think about actual global warming in this comedy about global warming. We might make you cheer when the arms are ripped off of climate change deniers, but we promise we won’t make you think. Unless, you know, that’s your thing. We are what you see after all…

“Save the Earth. Kick a little ass. Rip out a spleen (or a spine). And do it all with a power-pop ballad in your heart. That is The Toxic Avenger: The Musical, and, in Rorschach’s hands, it is in-toxic-ating, exuberant fun. It’s hard to believe this is Rorschach’s first musical production, given how practically perfect it is…spit-out-your-food, laugh-til-you-die fantastic.”

DC Theatre Scene

FEATURING

Ricky Drummond
Jordan Essex
Tess Higgins
Emily Levey
Joshua Simon

Understudies

Molly Rumberger

Designers

Set Patti Kalil
Costumes Frank Labovitz
Lighting Katie McCreary
Sound Gordon Nimmo-Smith Props Alekx Shines
Projections Kylos Brannon

STAFF

Music Director Jake Null
Choreographer Ashleigh King
Fight Choreographer Casey Kaleba
Stage Manager Abby Wasserman
ASM Sam Linc
Production Manager Lee Cromwell
Associate PM Jeremy Jackson
Master Electrician Elliott Shugoll
Wardrobe Jen Bryant
Sound Engineer Kristina Manente

MUSICIANS

Guitar Jaime Ibacache
Bass Jason Wilson
Reeds Dana Gardner
Drums Alex Aucoin

PRODUCERS

Randy Baker
Jenny McConnell Frederick

MEDIA

Photos by Ryan Maxwell Photography

PRESS

“Ridiculous, raunchy and giddily gruesome…Tracy Lynn Olivera has assembled a sidesplitting ensemble to join her on this trip to Tromaville.”
The Washington Post
“Olivera and company have produced something beautiful out of toxic sludge, and this should be just the first of many Rorschach musical productions.”
MD Theatre Guide
“A night of wicked fun… This is the musical you didn’t know you needed in your life.”
DC Metro Theatre Arts
A first class production from start to finish. Here’s hoping Rorschach Theatre continues producing musicals because their debut one certainly hit a grand slam.
Broadway World
“Perhaps there will come a day when our elected leaders and political pundits return to a greater degree of civility in their discourse. Until then, the subversive parody of Toxic Avenger: The Musical and its mutant monster, serve as a much-needed antidote.”
DC Theatre Scene