What I liked
I’m a sucker for a post-apocalyptic storyline ala Jeanne DuPrau’s City of Ember or, for a musical reference, Urinetown. The Choreography and harmonies were on point and there were some stand out voices in the ensemble. I really enjoyed two songs in particular: Thug Tunnel and Stabby Rick’s song. For the second year, Chris Bramante knocks it out of the park and Miles Crosman was everything I wanted in a creepy sewer rat spiritual guide to the promised land!
What I didn't like
I wouldn’t say these are things I “didn’t like” per se, but I think there could be some tweaks made to make this show really stellar, if they go into further development with this piece. I felt the storyline was a tad bare. I know this goes with the territory of creating an hour long musical, but there were things that didn’t further the storyline that could have been cut and no one would have missed them, i.e. yogurt girl / yogurt song. The yogurt itself could have become radioactive throughout the years and glows when you pop the top…then move on and add to more important moments characters in the show. Becky’s song could have been much shorter as well. Lastly, I felt some moments were rehashed many times over, like the hidden love of Panther for Petunia and Stabby Rick’s love for…well…stabbing. I get that’s his deal, but jokes that I laughed at heartily the first time around, felt diminished with every reminder.
My overall impression
The show was extremely polished with talent streaming throughout. I could absolutely see this stretched to a full length musical! There were some really creative moments courtesy of Molly Dworsky and I would be very interested to see what she would do if it was a full 2 hours. This group is beyond talented and I have no idea how they create such dynamic shows from improv! I can’t wait to see what they have in store for the future!
