Based on the movie that spawned a generation of doting tweens and a few aisles worth of merchandise at Walmart, "Storefront Theater Musical" is a feverishly silly and immensely enjoyable spoof on Disney's "High School Musical." Written with mocktacular wit and goofball gusto by Robert Bouwman, Linda Rudy and BJ Stradely, STM pokes fun at everything from Zac Efron to Chicago's theater bureaucracy, all while maintaining the absurd cheeriness and infectious tunes that Disney productions are known for.
The story revolves around the Upstage Theater, which will be shut down unless three rival theater companies – improv troupe Picasso's Missing Ear, the Really Realistic Realism Theater Company (RRR) and drag-queen revue L'eggs in a Basket – put aside their differences and hold a benefit performance to save the theater! As if that weren't enough conflict for a musical, STM adds a love story between Trent, whose dad is the improv troupe's coach, and Julianana, whose mom, DeDaDo, is head of the RRR. And I'm not even going to talk about the ninjas and the papier-mache Wizard of Oz with dreads. STM combines the best of pop fluff, slapstick, deadpan and multiple dance breaks whenever there's a lull in the storyline.
The exuberant cast covers just about every theater stereotype known to man, with the sheer nerdery that could only come from those who have been in the Chicago theater business a long time. But STM's not about insider jokes or theater trivia – instead it embraces the struggles so many artists feel while trying to make it in the biz. STM addresses these issues in sequined hot pants and while brandishing a giant dildo. Except for the occasional race-joke FAIL, STM is sheer comedic brilliance – a lowbrow-meets-high(school)brow treat with enough camp left over for a sequel, or two, or three, and maybe an Ice Capades show and line of commemorative pencil sharpeners. It's that good.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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