When Worlds Collide, Hilarity Ensues
REVIEW by ANTHONY CHASE
Who doesn't love a good bit of clowning? I will admit without shame that I adored the original "Nunsense" and that Barry Humphries, better known as his alter ego Dame Edna, is among my entertainment idols. And so, if you think less of me because I get an enormously satisfying giggle out of a silly little confection like "Khan!!! The Musical, A Star Trek-Tacular" currently on offer from O'Connell & Company at Shea's Smith Theatre, what can I say? I just can't help myself.
From the days when Weber and Fields turned serious melodramas like "The Stubbornness of Geraldine" into burlesques like "The Stickiness of Gelatine," (back in the day when burlesque meant parody, not striptease) through the decades of "Forbidden Broadway" gleefully skewering everything sacred about the Great White Way, theater folks have always known that parody is the sincerest form of flattery – and often the most entertaining. "Khan!!!" carries on this tradition with infectious enthusiasm, transforming sci-fi earnestness into musical theater mayhem.
The show is a musical parody of the "Star Trek" franchise told in the style of a Broadway musical by an android named "Data," 400 years in the future. To feed my entertainment obsessions further – and in a totally lowbrow and whimsical way – the evening is loaded with parodies of actual Broadway production numbers. Khan, played by Len Mendez, augmented with sensational latex pecs and abs, enters the scene to "My Wrath," an undeniable homage to "Sweet Transvestite" from "Rocky Horror." The Starship Enterprise is hailed to the tune of "Ship of Dreams," a clear reference to "Godspeed Titanic," but landing to much different effect. "The Hyperchannel Rag," in which wrathful Khan performs an act of ventriloquism using Chekov, played by Joey Bucheker as his dummy, is an unabashed theft of "We Both Reached for the Gun" from "Chicago."
Brent Black who has a genius for giddy foolishness, wrote the music, lyrics, and book for this show, co-conceived by Alina Roth. The plot follows Khan's vengeful pursuit of Kirk and the Enterprise crew after being exiled to a harsh planet. When Khan steals a powerful device capable of creating life - or dealing death – or some such nonsense, the Enterprise crew must stop him before he can unleash his wrath across the galaxy. While this might sound serious, the show treats it all with a delightfully goofy touch, filtering this space opera through the lens of musical theater conventions.
To be honest, I am well-familiar with the original “Star Trek,” for which I have disturbingly vivid recall from viewing the original broadcast in the 1960s, but I am all but oblivious to the subsequent incarnations, except some bizarre humpback whale movie starring Catherine Hicks back in the 1980s, and miscellaneous “Star Trek” comic books edited by my sister, Bobbie Chase. Still, the “Star Trek” iconography appears everywhere, and to enjoy "Khan!!! The Musical, A Star Trek-Tacular," appreciation for Broadway musicals might be the more important aptitude.
Joe Greenan appears as Data, an android who has done research on 20th century musicals. Greenan is a marvelously talented and quirky performer who emerged as if out of nowhere. I adored him as Seymour in “Little Shop of Horrors” at Lancaster Opera House. Here, his confident presence keeps the action moving. He distracts us from the holes in the plot by drawing our attention to them.
John Kruezer as James T. Kirk is the total opposite of a matinee idol, which makes it all the funnier when he totally taps into that aesthetic. He finds endless ways to send up William Shatner's famous mannerisms and vocal inflections while creating his own delightfully theatrical take on the iconic hero. Len Mendez delivers a no-holds-barred campy performance as Khan, managing to be simultaneously menacing and ridiculous. Vinny Murphy proves irresistibly funny as stone-faced Spock, maintaining perfect Vulcan composure, even while tap-dancing. Watching him shuffle-ball-change without betraying a hint of emotion is among the evening's most inspired bit of absurdity.
Ashleigh Chrisena Ricci shines as Saavik, a character less-familiar to me who is an eager and ambitious aspiring officer, and, like Spock, is part-Vulcan. Ricci, who has become ubiquitous on the Buffalo theater scene, uses the occasion to further demonstrate her versatility as an actor and shamelessness as a clown.
Christopher Wagner appears as Bones. Wagner is usually brought out for his uncommonly pure tenor voice, astutely deployed when Starring Buffalo did the real "Titanic," but on this occasion he also gets to engage in the sort of comedy he also showcased as the tenor in "Plaid Tidings." (Ujima, you might want to listen to him croon “Cadillac Car” before you cast “Dreamgirls”).
Dasia Ceri, memorable in the “Wonderettes” at O’Connell & Company appears as Uhura, while Miguel Gutierrez plays Sulu, youthful and alternately guileless and exasperated over the absurdity of it all. Sulu and Uhura have an appealing chemistry as the duo is charged to resolve every crisis, but never given adequate credit. Gutierrez is that sort of fresh-faced juvenile you begin could envision in a litany of other roles from Hero in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," to Arpad in "She Loves Me."
Nicholas Lama, one of Buffalo’s leading parody artists, appears as chief engineer, Scotty, whose technical expertise and innovative problem-solving is exceeded only by his fierce loyalty to both his ship and crew, here taken to comical extremes. Joey Buchecker as Chekov, Steven Maisonet as Redshirt a cadet and others, and Taylor Lee Hall as a cadet and others cheerfully do a behemoth's share of heavy lifting to give this overstuffed farce the power it needs to keep moving – and it does keep moving.
Audrianna Yates, another “Wonderettes” alumna, appears as Dr. Carol Marcus and here imbues the brilliant scientist with equal doses of bitterness and libido.
The production is directed by Daniel F. Lendzian, in a manner that makes me think that rehearsals must have been a lot of fun. Choreography by Joey Bucheker features delicious doses of Fosse's "Chicago" and other iconic Broadway choreography exactly where it is needed, danced far more gracefully than you'd expect at a clown academy.
Musical director Joe Isgar has done an excellent job with a heavily electronic sound and with strong singers. Scenic Designer Reuben Julius Schwartz provides a model of economy that reminded me of the cheesy “Lost in Space” sets from the original TV series, where aliens and otherworldly environments were crafted with an endearingly homemade aesthetic. Like that show, this production's design is done with ardor and creativity, as, for example, the mutant chickens -- where did those hilariously dopey puppets come from? This was “Lost in Space” meets “The Muppet Show”!
Costume Designer Timmy Goodman, who does so many shows he is either two people or does not sleep, rises to this occasion with marvelous wit and invention. Video Projections by Todd Warfield evoke familiar locations and save a fortune from the budget. Make-up designer Adam M. Wall completes the creative team with accurate recreations of the original "Star Trek" make-up, which requires no parody.
Microphones by Satan all but undermined the yeoman's effort elsewhere as they faded in and out as if directed by some demonic presence. This was such a feel-good evening, however, that the large audience cheerfully forgave all trespasses.
While I concede it’s nothing but foolishness, this parody succeeds because it comes from a place of genuine affection for both "Star Trek" and musical theater. That creator Brent Black traveled to Buffalo to see this production speaks to his earnest investment in the piece, and O'Connell & Company has rewarded that investment with a production that understands exactly what it is – an unpretentious and loving tribute to two distinct entertainment universes that somehow work together perfectly. Yes, it's silly. Yes, it's over the top. And yes, that's what they were going for. That is the joy of "Khan!!!"
Performances continue at Shea's Smith Theatre, through January 26, 2025
Sat January 18 – 2pm & 7:30pm
Sun January 19 – 2pm
Thurs January 23 – 7:30pm
Fri January 24 – 7:30pm
Sat January 25 – 7:30pm
Sun January 26 – 2pm & 7:30pm
716-847-0850