What I liked
I loved everything about this show. Be proud of who you are
What I didn't like
I wanted even worse things to happen to DB
My overall impression
Often times, we talk about how a show speaks to us or how we can relate to it. Comic-Con the Musical was this show for me. I’ve collected comics and toys and have been to Comic-Con many times. As soon as I walked in and heard the Cantina theme (from Star Wars) followed by the Star Trek theme, I knew I was in for a treat.
When we meet the cast, I instantly had flashbacks of cons I’ve been to. We’ve all seen these people. The cosplayer, the indie comic creator, the fan fic writer, etc. When Allen Gray (played by Mark Lewis), announces a surprise pitch contest as a plan for a comeback (after 27 movies in a franchise), Jason, indie comic creator of Super Christian Psychic Alcoholic Alien Detective (played by Davis MacLeod Haines), Anna, Vempire Fan Fic writer (played by Christina Lea), and Drew, cosplayer with no origin story (played by Michael D’Elia) team up to think of a story for him. But, DB Coates, creator of the CW series “Vempire” (played by Ryan Shrime) learns of their plan, he teams up with real life Alien, the Flarg Princess (played by Mariah Rose Faith) in order to take what they believe is theirs.
While most cast members have their own songs to sing (which are all fantastic), this piece shines when all of them are on stage and singing together. I was really impressed with this and the amount of times this happened. This is a show written by someone with a pure love of comics and cons and it shows. This isn’t mocking the culture at all, but shows it love. To this point, after all the backstabbing and betrayal that happens, there is such an inspirational message at the end of the show. Be proud of who you are and what you’re into.
Also, if you show up in costume, you can take part in the con’s costume contest!
I can’t help but wonder who some of these characters are based off of, specifically Allen Gray and DB Coates. I have my thoughts, based on similar conversations I’ve had with friends that I heard in this show. Maybe these thoughts are universal…and if it’s who I think it is, then it makes sense.
This is so well done that even if you have no knowledge of comics or have never attended a con, you will still find this enjoyable. The story, the music and songs, the acting, etc are so well produced. According to the Fringebill, this is not their full vision for the show. This is so exciting to me because I want to see what more they do in the coming months/years to make this more into their vision. It’s great as is, but I can’t wait to see this show again when they feel they’ve reached the next level.
