By JULES SHINKLE
BG Independent News
The apocalypse has arrived in Hatchetfield, and Paul is just sick of all the singing and dancing.
Paul is an average guy. He works a boring office job, has a crush on the local barista, and would rather die than go see “Mama Mia” this weekend. After a mysterious meteor crashes into Hatchetfield’s theater, Paul’s life becomes a waking nightmare: people frolicking in the streets to highly choreographed numbers. The zombie-like infection quickly spreads through the town as Paul and his cohort fight for their lives to remain musically uninclined.
“The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals,” written by Jeff Blim of StarKid Productions, is being put on by The Village Players Theatre under the direction of Ryan Albrecht. The music director is Joelle Stiles-Brown, and the choreography is by Pippin Green.
The Village Players will run the show for two weekends, Sept. 5-7 and Sept. 11-14, at their theatre at 2740 Upton Ave., Toledo. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows start at 7 p.m. and Sunday shows begin at 2 p.m. Click here to buy tickets.
Like many of StarKid’s shows, “The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” has a lot of self-referential humor that pokes fun at the musical genre. When Paul (Seth Johnson) is summoned into his boss’s office, he assumes that he’s about to be chewed out for not having the weekly report done; instead, his boss (Brock Burkett) disciplines him for not having a clearly stated character motivation.
“The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” is also a parody of apocalypse horror, reminiscent of movies like “Shaun of the Dead.”
Paul’s barista crush, Emma (Hayley Hoss), also finds musicals to be a bit much. They team up with Paul’s coworkers and become the de facto last bastion of humanity in Hatchetfield.
Emma leads them to the zany Professor Hidgens (Thomas Long), hoping his expertise will be enough to find a way to bring back the infected. The team may be able to survive, but only if they can learn to get along and resist the pull of the song.
The musical excels at its irreverent, fourth-wall-breaking humor and toe-tapping musical numbers. The cast does an excellent job embracing the goofy comedic sensibility of the script.
For example, Professor Hidgens’ flair for the dramatic often has him bounding across the stage to strike flashy poses, just for the sake of it.
While the show is driven by its absurdity, the occasionally sincere moments do a good job of keeping the plot emotionally grounded. For fans of StarKid’s style of comedic musicals, “The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” will be an utter delight.
