Theater Review by Walter Murphy with Catherine Kemm . . .
Every time I see a show I learn something. After seeing A Fairly Odd Musical! at the Jerry Orbach Theater I learned that there are a lot of cartoons featuring bald-headed babies and one doesn’t have to be a Gen Z’er to enjoy a very clever and entertaining parody of Nickelodeon shows from the late 1990s and early 2000s. One can simply enjoy the performances of the talented and silly cast.
The parody—written and directed by Braydon Martino, with music and lyrics by Hudson Keown, and produced by See Humans—uses storylines from the cartoon, The Fairly OddParents, to start a parade of cartoon characters from that era . . . to the delight of the mostly Gen Z audience. Cameos pop up by the likes of Phineas and Ferb, Rugrats, Jimmy Neutron, Scooby Doo, SpongeBob, Danny Phantom, CatDog, Caillou, Family Guy, Code Name Kids Next Door, Ed Edd n’ Eddy, Charlie Brown, Avatar The Last Airbender, and Kim Possible.
The plot follows the efforts of a greedy developer, Doug Dimmadome, to start a new streaming service, Dimma+, featuring reboots, remakes, and spin-offs, much to the dismay of the lead, Timmy (Callahan Gillespie). However, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz , masquerading as Doug Dimmadome (Lucas Boniface), and Denzel Crocker (Clay Webb) conspire to launch Dimma+, which would ultimately lead to world domination. It is Timmy’s belief that kids deserve original works of art, not rehashed and recycled themes and plots. So to ensure that Dimma+ fails, Timmy uses a magic remote to create politically incorrect plot twists to get the reboots he hates so much canceled. Nothing succeeds like failure.
For the intended Gen Z audience, raised on technology, the show uses that tech familiarity to create an interactive experience. The stage design by Molly Brodowski was cartoonish (pun intended, couldn’t resist) and minimalist—exactly appropriate for the production. The giant TV recreates the Netflix home screen we are all familiar with, featuring new show reboots as thumbnails on the dashboard. This inclusion gives a realistic effect while also leaving subtle “easter egg” jokes on the screen for us to discover.
People are encouraged to use a polling app on their phones to select scenarios for the cast to act out, as well as to respond to cast questions. For instance, at our performance we selected scenes involving CatDog and a questionable surgical procedure, and another with Scooby-Doo and existential dread . . . or so it seemed. Other scene options were Tom Holland as Danny Phantom, Johnny Bravo, and SpongeBob Squarepants, among others. Throughout there are pre-recorded videos, and one lucky audience member is granted control of a magical remote that becomes a bargaining bit with Mr. Crocker. This interactivity allows the audience to create a different show with every performance.
The songs splendidly reveal personalities to match the quirky characteristics of the cartoon characters. Trixie Tang, the hot, cool girl sings “Tell Me I’m Pretty” to great effect. And there are surprises and departures from their known behaviors. For example, Ferb, of Phineas and Ferb never talks in the original cartoon, but here bursts into song (one of the highlights of the show) and speaks in a British (?) Australian (?), English (?) accent. Acknowledging that the kids who watched the show back in the day are now adults, there are sight gags and quips, wordplay, and language that would never have appeared, even on cable. Nor would cartoon characters suggest a threesome. Timmy’s name is continually mangled (e.g., Tilapia, Tiramisu . . . ). Very clever.
With so many shows and characters, the large cast shares multiple roles. They were all excellent. Each projected the frantic energy exhibiting boundless joy and affection for their cartoon characters. The cast at our performance was Callahan Gillispe, Arthur Knox, Tess Gilmore, Clay Webb, Lucas Boniface, Randie Ford, Rhea Bradley, Nick Humphries, and Melia Jost. Several of the cast members nailed renditions of instantly recognizable voices of iconic Nickelodeon characters. Specifically, Clay Webb’s Mr. Crocker, Lucas Boniface’s Heinz Doofenshmirtz, and Nick Humphries’ Mr. Turner were all impressive mimicry.
With such a large cast and relatively small stage, kudos to Choreographer Emma Eileen Hansen for having the actors moving and dancing with frenzied grace throughout the two-hour show.
May I suggest that given the large number of references to shows, they should have a competition to identify the most. Extra credit given for naming all the bald-headed babies.
The show closed with the cast singing pretty good advice, often forgotten: “Be yourself and nobody else. You’re special.” For Gen Z, this show is special.
A Fairly Odd Musical! is appearing at the Jerry Orbach Theater (210 West 50th Street, between Broadway and Seventh Avenue) on Wednesdays at 8pm on an open-ended run. www.thetheatercenter.com/jerry-orbach-theater
Photos: Austin Ruffer
