What I liked
A personal favorite line of mine from the movie, that I hoped would be used in the show, is when young Johnny tells the alien invader Ro-Man “You look like a pooped out pinwheel!” And the play didn’t disappoint, with an entire “Pooped Out Pinwheel” song that just made my night.
The cast was excellent, hitting all of the right character notes, and the sets and props while minimalist (this is a Fringe show, after all) were still enough to support the story. I particularly liked the accurate Ro-Man costume – the gorilla in a space helmet is so iconic, and this show went all out to make it look right. The use of video projection for the Great Guidance Ro-Man was also effective and true to the movie.
I enjoyed it so much I’m planning to see it again on its closing night, June 23rd. I must, but I cannot, yet I must!
What I didn't like
One element of the movie that always stood out was that the character Roy takes off his shirt and then spends the rest of the movie shirtless – including during his own wedding to Alice. I’m sure that the play had a good reason for not including a shirtless Roy, but it seems a missed opportunity.
One other element that could be included in future productions would be some sort of acknowledgment of the original film’s stereoscopic 3-D by perhaps having some 3-D elements in the show, glasses for the audience, etc.
Of course, as this was the first ever mounting of this new script, I’m sure it will continue to evolve and develop as it goes through more performances, and I look forward to seeing future productions of this show.
My overall impression
Let me preface this by saying that I am a huge fan of the 1953 3-D movie Robot Monster – one of the best, worst movies ever made. So when I heard that there was going to be a Fringe Festival show “Robot Monster, The Musical” I immediately bought tickets. I had no idea what the show would be like, and whether it would pay homage to or mock the original source material.
Robot Monster, The Musical turns out to be a lot of fun and obviously produced by fellow fans of the original movie. It finds a balance between being faithful to the source, while providing a lot of wink-wink campiness. Most of the dialog and scene direction is taken directly from the movie script, and the songs play strongly with some of the movie’s most outrageous lines.
