“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” reviewed by Julia W. Rath

Recommended 3 Stars  “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” is a dark comedy, mostly geared to fans of the musical comedy-drama miniseries of that name from 2008 and distributed on the internet. The original series was written by writer/director Joss Whedon, his brothers Zack Whedon (a television writer) and Jed Whedon (a composer), and writer/actress Maurissa Tancharoen. Fun and entertaining, this live stage presentation, directed by Ed Rutherford, is largely geared to a fandom crowd. Some aspects are so corny and slapstick that they are great. The physical comedy is nicely done. The show is somewhat reminiscent of early television and a far less sophisticated age when the death ray gun was first being theorized and when fanciful TV programs aired during the 1950s. “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” is not exactly a farce, not exactly a fantasy, not exactly science fiction or even a straight—or gay—antihero show—but, rather, a surreal parody on the forms that evil could take, with a generous dose of inanity, having to do with the Evil League of Evil.

Kevin Webb is outstanding in his role as Dr. Horrible, an aspiring villain. He holds the story together with his marvelous singing and his wide ability to engage the audience with his patter and humor. Equally fine voices belong to Tommy Thurston, who plays his archnemesis Captain Hammer, and Stephanie Fongheister, who plays Penny, a charity worker who is both men’s love interest. The competition between them for her affections is swift and unyielding. Their songs create the engine for much of the show, thanks to excellent music direction by Micky York. In addition, Joshua Servantez, as Moist, and Caitlin Jackson, North Homewood, Josh Kemper, Peter Ruger, and Maiko Terazawa round out the cast.

This adult-themed comedy features offbeat video and projection design that merges the second dimension with the third. I was impressed with G. “Max” Maxin IV’s incredible work in this regard! I loved the drawings and projections and the inspirations for the visual artistry, the handiwork of Jeremiah Barr, who is in charge of the scenic design and technical directing. Some of the best parts are the cleverly inspired dance numbers, featuring characters who are not afraid to move their tushies! Kudos to Derek Van Barham for the enticing choreography! Liz Cooper, who handles lighting design, and Robert Hornbostel, who handles sound design, have each done a great job as well.

As an “outsider” unfamiliar with the internet miniseries, I improperly inferred from the title that at some point, the audience would be called upon to sing along (or at least, be inspired to do so); hence the reason for performing this show before a live audience. But I was soon disabused of this notion, as the singing is limited to the characters on stage. The music is excellent, but none of the songs are hummable. The story is certainly short enough, being 70 minutes all together; but unfortunately, two 10-minute intermissions have been inserted to make a total running time of 90 minutes. These breaks are unnecessary when there isn’t enough of a costume change or a scene change between acts to warrant them. These, however, are a throwback to the original telling of the tale on the internet, when these acts were being broadcast as distinct online episodes, separated by a two-day break. In short, it would have been much better had the performance run straight through—and without a rehash of all the credits. What happens when the play is interrupted too frequently is that we begin to lose the thread of the story just when we’re finally getting into it. But perhaps all this is quite intentional, for during these breaks, we have the opportunity to head to the lobby to imbibe some green lemonade, specially made for the occasion.

Today’s authorized live fan production is being presented to benefit the Chicago charity Season of Concern, an organization originally founded in 1987 to provide financial support to those in the theater arts afflicted with AIDS. Since then, the organization has expanded its mission to offer emergency financial assistance to  theater artists who cannot work due to all types of health-related issues, such illness, injury, or a similar crisis.

In all, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” is a motley combination of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Some portions are so bad, they’re good. Other portions are so good, they’re bad. And other segments are simply ugly. The live version is good enough to make the audience chuckle, if not outright laugh, especially if you’re an “insider.” In fact, on the night I saw the performance, most audience members got all the references to the antiheroes, their actions, and their gags and seemed to love it all; while the uninitiated people (like myself) were not as impressed. To my mind, the script is a bit choppy and requires some amount of explanation, and the end is too depressing. Although the presentation stays true to its 2008 roots as a show in three acts, it doesn’t have to be. As my guest described the performance: “It will most likely appeal to twenty-somethings.”

“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” is produced by Black Button Eyes Productions and is showing at the Edge Theater (mainstage), 5451 N. Broadway Avenue, Chicago, through November 6, 2021.

Tickets are $30 for general admission and are available through
http://drhorriblechicago.eventbrite.com.

Performance schedule:

Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
Sundays at 3:00 p.m.

Proof of vaccination and masking are required for all audience members.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”.