What I liked
original article published at https://giaonthemove.com/2016/06/21/gia-hff16-reviews-alien-vs-musical/
What I didn't like
original article published at https://giaonthemove.com/2016/06/21/gia-hff16-reviews-alien-vs-musical/
My overall impression
Everything is calm, even perfect in Musical-land. All your favorite Broadway characters including, Elpheba, Annie, Maria, Danny Zuko and many others live in perfect harmony, literally. It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Elder Price from Book Of Mormon gets the life sucked out of him by a Xenomorph, from Alien. Wait, what did you just say? You heard right. This is Aliens Vs. Musical. After taking home the audience voted Best Musical Award at last year’s Hollywood Fringe, AvM returns with an extended version promising more gags, songs and fun. For me, it just went on a little too long.
Annie, played by Allie Costa, is beyond superb. A knockout performance. She fully encapsulates the character with more truth and cut than any other actor in the show; she also sings the hell out her songs. The rest of the cast is beyond adequate. But really they’re all trying to hold a tiny, messed up birthday candle in comparison to Costa.
The production value is quite high for a fringe show. Costumes are dead accurate. The puppetry is quite impressive; especially for the finale. If the idea is to take this show to Broadway, it has potential but needs a more coherent plot. Also, instead of actors standing up and walking offstage after dying, I would have liked to see a xenomorph (or several) drag the body off. Overall, this is a fun, silly show, which is sure to hit a sweet spot in the geek culture.
