Funny, irreverent remount is 90-minutes of pure enjoyment
Review by Lauren Whalen
In a nutshell, Triassic Parq is "Jurassic Park" (as the opening song proclaims, "we don't want to get sued!") from the perspective of the dinosaurs who eventually escape their quarters and turn a dream theme park into a disaster. All of the dinosaurs are genetically engineered to be female, so when T-Rex 2 (Veronica Garza, the sole new cast member and perhaps the strongest) inexplicably finds herself with a third...appendage, all hell
Triassic Parq is 90 fast-paced minutes of pure enjoyment, with smart direction by Tommy Bullington and Nicholas Reinhart, and Reinhart's spot-on, show choir-parody choreography. Jimmy Jagos' set design maximizes the small Heartland Studio with an epic movie feel, and Kat Sass' costumes are elaborate and colorful.
A cast with killer voices and moves, as well as impeccable comic timing, is essential for a show like Triassic Parq . These performers do not disappoint: though I didn't see Circle Theatre's original production, I can see why most of the original cast would want to return. Everyone works incredibly well together and shines in solo moments. Jacob Richard Axelson is a fierce, fabulous Velociraptor of Faith, and Guidry appropriately naïve and diva-esque. Caitlin Bohoopens the show with a bang, as the musical's lone human. Though Patrick Stengle has no dialogue, his Mime-a-saurus is the comic highlight of the show, and Daly, as always, is a force to be reckoned with and a treat to watch. Marissa Druzbanski is a powerfully hilarious Velociraptor of Science, and Garza (whose Jeff Award-winning dual role in Tonya & Nancy: A Rock Operawas perhaps my favorite performance of 2016) delivers yet another star-making performance, poking fun at toxic masculinity while sporting a glittering phallus.
Triassic Parq first appeared at the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival, where it won Best Overall Musical/Production. After an off-Broadway run in 2012, the show was slightly rewritten and ran in Southern California, where it won three more awards. It's easy to see why: Triassic Parq is both unique (there's only one human character who appears sporadically, the rest are pure dino) and familiar (originally a best-selling novel by Michael Crichton, "Jurassic Park"has spawned a movie franchise and a reboot, the sequel to which just wrapped filming). The musical's book and score explore faith vs. science, and how the two can work for and against one another, in a lighthearted manner with a metric ton of sexual innuendoes in between. Again, a few of the gags are questionable or in poor taste - does a white woman really need to play a character named Morgan Freeman? - but overall, Triassic Parq is an excellent remount, a quick and dirty 90 minutes of pure entertainment.
Triassic Parq continues through August 13th at Heartland Studio, 7016 N. Glenwood (map), with performances Thursdays-Fridays 8pm, Saturdays 2:30pm & 8pm, Sundays 2:30pm. Tickets are $28, and are available by phone (773-453-5272) or online through BrownPaperTickets.com (check for availability of ). More information at CircleTheatreChicago.org. (Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission)
Photos by Cody Jolly Photography
Justin Harner (Piano), Connor Zagrans (Drums), Jeremiah Benham (Guitar), John Cockerill (Sub-a-Saurus, August 3-7)
behind the scenes
Tommy Bullington (co-director), Nicholas Reinhart (co-directors, choreographer), Aaron Benham (music director), Andrew C. Donnelly (production stage manager), Jimmy Jagos (scenic design), Erik S. Barry (lighting design), (costume design), Kenneth Long (sound design), Greg Pinsoneault (puppet & properties design), Marissa Druzbanski (dance captain), Alma Beldenova, Jimmy Jagos (charge artists), Tracey Burbank (master electrician), (casting director), Bobby Arnold (producer), (photos)
Tags: 17-0724, Aaron Benham, Alma Beldenova, Andrew C. Donnelly, Bobby Arnold, Caitlin Boho, Chicago Theater, Circle Theatre, Cody Jolly, Connor Zagrans, Erik S. Barry, Erin Daly, Frankie Leo Bennett, Greg Pinsoneault, Halli Morgan, Heartland Studio, Jacob Richard Axelson, Jeremiah Benham, Jimmy Jagos, John Cockerill, Justin Harner, Kat Sass, Kenneth Long, Lauren Whalen, Marissa Druzbanski, Nicholas Reinhart, Parker Guidry, Patrick Stengle, post, Tommy Bullington, Tracey Burbank, Veronica Garza
Category: 2017 Reviews, Circle Theatre, Extensions-Remounts, Heartland Studio Theatre, Lauren Whalen, Musical, Parody
