THE TOXIC AVENGER THE MUSICAL

Book and Lyrics by Joe DiPietro
Music and Lyrics by David Bryan
Directed by Tracy Lynn Olivera
Music Direction by Jake Null

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.

* 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

Ridiculous, raunchy and giddily gruesome…Tracy Lynn Olivera has assembled a sidesplitting ensemble to join her on this trip to Tromaville.

– The Washington Post

A night of wicked fun… This is the musical you didn’t know you needed in your life.

– DC Metro Theatre Arts

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 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 (Feature Article)

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.”

THE TOXIC AVENGER ran from January 31 – March 1,2020

ALL SHOWS WERE HELD AT THE SILVER SPRING BLACK BOX
(Near the Silver Spring Metro, Next to the AFI)

FEATURING Ricky Drummond, Jordan Essex, Tess Higgins, Emily Levey, and Joshua Simon. With Molly Rumberger (understudy).

DESIGNED BY Patti Kalil (Set), Frank Labovitz (Costumes), Katie McCreary (lights), Gordon Nimmo-Smith (Sound), Alekx Shines (Props), and Kylos Brannon (Projections)

CHOREOGRAPHED BY Ashleigh King (Dance Choreography) and Casey Kaleba (fight choreography)

STAGE MANAGED BY Abby Wasserman (Stage Manager), Sam Linc (Assistant Stage Manager)

WITH Lee Cromwell (Production Manager), Jeremy Jackson (Associate Production Manager), Jen Bryant (Wardrobe), and Kristina Manente (Sound Engineer)

MUSICIANS: Jaime Ibacache (Guitar), Jason Wilson (Bass), Dana Gardner (Reeds), and Alex Aucoin (Drums)

PRODUCED BY Randy Baker and Jenny McConnell Frederick

All Photos on this page: Ryan Maxwell Photography

THE TOXIC AVENGER THE MUSICAL

© 2020 by Rorschach Theatre

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