A Night with Geeks at Geeks! The Musical!

Last night, Wysefyre and I attended the opening night of Geeks! The Musical! by the Write Act Repertory. Book and Lyrics by Thomas J. Misuraca and Music by Ruth Judkowitz.

The story follows three couples of friends. The DC fan/main man Jordan and his Whovian Chip, played by Zachary Conner and Eli Bosnick.  The marvel fan/girl! Kerry and her hates everything friend Emerson, played by Meredith Owens and DaWoyne A. Hill. The final duo is the struggling artists Trey and Audrina, played by Danny Moreno and Ayelet Firstenberg.   All of their paths collide at SDCC as they all search for the top collectible, a publishing deal and finally, love. Through it all, Jordan and Kerry get to meet their childhood hero, has-been actor Mel Tyler, played by John D'Arcangelo.


As it turns out, each couple is made of a classic hero and sidekick.  I saw the heroes as Jordan, Kerry and Trey.  These actors each provided great and solid performances but in this show, the sidekicks take the cake. Audrina, Chip and Emerson were by far my favorite performances. Each actor brought so much to their characters that they weren't the classic geek. They also did what every great sidekick does: get their hero to do something.  These sidekicks really move the show along, in both good and bad ways.

The other standout acting was the Geek! Chorus.  This group of actors did so much to make the show a sight to see.  No matter what the mains were doing, this group was hardly background.  They each reacted to anything and everything going on in unexpected and hilarious ways.

Just loved the set floor.  If only I could paint my floor like this.....

The show structure starts off a little disorganized in scene transition.  Many introductions happen randomly, which left me very confused as to what was happening.  The first half of the play feels very disjointed, as if I was watching two different stories cut together.  As all of the story lines begin to come together, the play starts to flow together, which shows in the actors.

G!TM! does trade on many classic geek/nerd stereotypes, such as the virgin, socially awkward fanboy. However, it is portrayed with such camp, that as a geek, nothing is offending. One main theme is the realization that girls go to comic con. It's highlighted in a few songs but especially in my fav song, Women in Sci-Fi. This fantastic song asks where the women heroes went and lists all the greats. Frankly, this song made me want to get up and sing along.

Another major theme is sexuality.  That's right, they touch upon straight and gay just like they talk about Marvel vs. DC.  This topic is not handled as delicately as it should be in my opinion.  A lot of discussion is had essentially dismissing bisexuality.  I imagine that some people could be offended.  However, there is also a scene with a straight character tries to seduce a gay character that is just hilarious.

This play was a lighthearted, campy way to spend the evening.  If you are going to trade on geek stereotypes  this is done the right way.  Every geek or nerd can find someone to relate to within the cast, or a comic prop that they own (just like Wysefyre).  This is especially a great way to unwind after a long day at NY Comic Con!  Geeks! The Musical! will be playing at Richmond Shepard Theater though Oct. 28th.


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