On Friday, October 10th, the FEARnet editorial crew took a trip to New Brunswick New Jersey for no other reason than to dine at a crappy pub around the corner from the George Street Playhouse, where, after scarfin’ down mediocre grub, we watched a 90 minute The Toxic Avenger Musical in the same audience as the film’s writer and co-director Lloyd Kaufman. Hot-N-Toxic dream come true? You betcha’. But read on after the jump for a more critical (and hopefully a bit more educated than Hot-N-Toxic) review of the—as they call it--“whoriest and goriest” musical of all time!

COSTUME DESIGN
One of the hardest facets in adapting the Toxic Avenger from screen to stage, it would seem, is costuming. With the exception of the Phantom of the Opera (whose disfigured face is covered by a mask), on stage monstrosities have been side-stepped and sparing for the most part and operating on a sub-Broadway budget made me a bit leery about how the titular Avenger would look on stage. To my delight and surprise, the Toxic Avenger was the spitting image of his on-screen incarnation. The trio behind the film’s brilliant costuming and prosthetics, comprised of David Woolard (Costume Designer), John Dods (Special Effects/Prosthetics Design), and Mark Adam Rampmeyer (Hair and Wig Designer), succeeded big time in making Toxie’s flesh look boiled and pock-marked and giving him a face so disfigured that it would make Rocky Dennis himself blush. Toxie’s left eye dangles out of socket like a dream and even finds itself the subject of a few jokes through the course of the play; his scalp definitely paints the harsh imagery that only a severe chemical burn could – tufts of fried hair still hanging on in all their glory; and Toxie’s impeccably designed mask even cashes itself in for a nice gross-out surprise during musical number’s end as a burst vein his forehead sprays green ooze all over his fellow cast-mates. All of these crown achievements are products of the play’s centerpiece: the Toxie mask. Upon interviewing cast member Nick Cordero (he played the role of Melvin Ferd the Third/Toxie) after the show, Cordero revealed that the mask was made specifically for his face and that a latex cast had been made of his own mug in order to mold it perfectly over his face. Arm and leg prosthetics were also used not only to give Toxie’s flesh the appearance of burned flesh but also to balloon the nerdy, beanpole Melvin into the hulking beast that is the Toxic Avenger. But the costumes didn’t stop at the Avenger. No, with a cast of five playing the entire town of Tromaville, costume changes were coming almost as often as the laughs – some could even say that separate characters played by the same actor meet each other on stage. And not only did these costumes achieve the task of transforming these actors from role to role each time they stepped back out onto stage but they also paved the way for some really special limb-ripping effects which helped to preserve the gross-out tone of the original as well as pile on a few laughs. Hats off to the team of Woolard, Dods, and Rampmeyer for their ingenuity and creativity in giving this show the look and effects it so heavily relied on.
--Eric Walsingham

MOVIE VS. MUSICAL
When I first started thinking about the differences in plot between the film and musical, they seemed to heap in my mind. I soon realized, however, that while trying to talk about the differences, I really got pretty nit-picky. Maybe to the average audience member, it won’t seem such a big change that now Melvin the nerd has a crush on his (future) blind girlfriend before he goes toxic. And it really isn’t a big change to turn the once globular and bulbous Mayor of town into an aging cougar harpy! In fact, most of the major changes in plot actually make the story better (oh forgive me, Troma)! The thing that this film does differently, most of all, lies in how it sets into motion a story that feels much tighter than the film; a story that really follows how Toxie feels throughout. Also, the relationship between Toxie and his girl is explored much more deeply, and with much more care. So, while the differences are small, they may have added to characterization that was missing from the film! And this is coming from a die-hard Avenger fan!
--Giaco Furino

THE MUSIC
It doesn’t seem like it’d be easy to translate a green and oozing mutilated nerd with superhuman, disembowel-people-by-hand strength to a stage play. But then again, they didn’t think it’d be easy to translate a demonic book that takes over your soul and a severed hand with a murderous mind of its own to the stage either. However, after wild success and long running performances in both Toronto at the Diesel Theater and in New York at New World Stage, Evil Dead the Musical now serves up transatlantic performances in Germany and Japan. And while I’m sure it was never easy, after actually seeing The Toxic Avenger Musical, the translation is definitely feasible, keeping true to the Toxie spirit but softening the blow of mutilated nerd and hot, blind librarians getting it on with a few hilarious over the top musical numbers.

At times, the “whoriest and goriest” musical, as it’s labeled, seems less “whoriest and goriest” than it does just sort of “whory and gory”. And while horror fans can get their fill of squirting blood from severed legs and dripping toxic goo from the cranium of that lovable avenger, it often seems that the horror aspect takes sort of a backseat to the main focus on environmental conservation and our eminent destruction without immediate action…not that there’s anything wrong with that.

That’s not to say, however, that horror fans will be disappointed with the musical numbers. For those that have seen Evil Dead the Musical in all it’s obscure horror references and splattastic glory, The Toxic Avenger Musical is a slight change of pace. While the Toxie musical doesn’t include audience blood splatter and titles like “What the Fuck was That?”, unabashed floor humping, demon humping, and trees humping young, newly turned demon girls, it doesn’t exactly come off as “tame” either, with numbers like “Kick Your Ass” that merely involve tearing thugs limb-by-limb, practically playing jump rope with intestines and decapitation by way of ripping said thug’s head clear from their necks. Or, if it’s the humping that caught your eye, that “Hot Toxic Love” number with persistent pelvic thrusting from Toxie and his blind girlfriend don’t exactly say that this musical is “docile”.

The night of the show, the number, “I Did Donald Trump” was actually replaced with “The Governor”--a definite wise choice and socially relevant pick as our toxic wasting mayor of Tromaville sings amidst a wall of photos chronicling her political heroes, including one very special female governor that’s currently in the spotlight…for reasons never understood by yours truly.

Anywho, at times, The Toxic Avenger Musical, though packed with blood splat, overt sexual references, uninhibited violence and profuse vulgar language—just take the song “Bitch/Slut/Liar/Whore” for example---often feels more like a New Jersey musical (which is equally amusing) than just a Toxic Avenger Musical. Many of the songs like “The Governor” and “Who Will Save New Jersey?” are highly reminiscent in sound to crooning Jersey pseudo-rockers Bon Jovi and Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen. And for good measure and consistency’s sake the soundtrack even features a song titled, “The Legend of the Toxic Avenger” sung and guitar strummed by a blue-jean-and-red-bandana-in-the-back-pocket-wearing-folk-singer---plus, David Bryan, co-founding creator of Bon Jovi had a huge hand in writing the lyrics as well as the music along with Joe DiPietro (no relation to myself) who wrote the book and co-wrote those catchy lyrics too.

And while it may be missing titles like “All The Men In My Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons” or “Stupid Bitch”, I didn’t particularly miss the obscurity. The music and lyrics and even the 5 person cast (yeah, an amazing 5 person cast that switches in and out of about 10-15 roles) play out as a constantly funny, shameless, environmental pundit that happens to be hideously disfigured and ends up shacking up with a sexy, blind librarian. In essence, the music and lyrics can go just as well with organ ripping and mild decapitation as it can with a car ride to New Brunswick, New Jersey…or wherever else Toxie may take you.

Official Song List
Who will save New Jersey?
The Governor
Get the Geek
Get the Chick
Kick your Ass
I Promise
My Big French BoyfriendThank God She’s Blind
Big Green Freak
Choose Me, Oprah
Hot Toxic Love
The Legend of the Toxic Avenger
Evil Is hot
Bitch/Slut/Liar/Whore
Everybody Dies
You Tore My Heart Out
Kill The Freak
All Men Are Freaks
It’s A Brand New Day in New Jersey

---Gabrielle DiPietro

George Street Playhouse Official Website
The Toxic Avenger Musical Official Website