On a hot summer night (sorry Meatloaf), and birthday evening, where else is there to go to celebrate and indulge in a quality new musical with LGBTQ+ themes than Manchester's Hope Mill Theatre?
Tonight's offering (until 27th July) is new musical 'Lizard Boy', starring a cast of just three in the form of playwright and composer Justin Huertas (guitar, ukelele and cello) who also plays the lead character of Trevor (that's his middle name, he's actuallly called Jason Reyes), along with fellow musicians and epic talents William A. Williams (guitar, piano, xylophone and beatbox) as Cary, and Kirsten "Kiki" deHohr Helland as rock singer (piano, cazoo and melodica player and heel-stamper) and conspiracy theorist, Siren. The trio are incredible, clearly well-directed by Brandon Ivie. They are the original US cast (as featured on the official soundtrack on Spotify) and there is also a 'UK alternate cast'.
Now, there is a detailed synopsis online (lizardmusical.com/lizards-only-page) but here's the general gist...during a bizarre childhood accident in the playground when he was just 5 years old, Trevor was drenched head to toe in dragon’s blood (don't ask how), growing green and scaly skin leading him to withdraw from the world. Tonight, twenty years later, he meets a cute guy on a popular gay hook-up app, who has only recently moved into the flat the scene is set in (it's around Halloween time and it's also MonsterFest) and is deperate for sexual attenton, whilst trying to find his past love who suddenly disappeared without notice. On a first meet/date we see (and hear) their differences in expectation, Trevor's innocence and, after leaving initially, they build a bond and share a journey of trust, support, acceptance and acknowledgment as they piece together why Trevor is the Lizard Boy, has scales and why he has the dreams that he does. One dream is of Siren, whom he recognises from the cover of Stranger magazine. He attends her gig at The Crocodile and, after he sings her one of his own songs, she eventually realises who he is. She was one of the 6 children also in the playground accident which consequently gave them powers, her's being singing. She believes that the causes of the accident (I won't spoilt it) are due to return and that the world will end in the morning. The threesome embark on a battle of mythical proportions and we join them to discover whether good conquers evil (not crazy), as well as the moral that everyone has powers that make them feel like a freak but no-one is normal, we are all superheroes and shouldn't put ourselves down for being different.
The sheer talent and vocality, regardless of the direction, and on-point and in-sync execution, is second to none. This show is so polished and well-written and considered that it is firmly where is belongs...on a professional stage to be enjoyed by the masses. I was in awe of their versaitility and multitude of abilities and am honoured to have spent my birthday witnessing this gem of a show.
Billed as "equal parts comic-book lore and coming-of-age love story", there are elements of other musicals in this but it is, without a doubt, it's own piece, in a league of its own. Whilst we are forced to use our imagination, around the lack of green makeup that is referenced and the flipping between time periods (you'll hear the cue for these and they are Trevor's dreams/flachbacks and forwards), we are guided through and the physical elements that we have to imagine involving invisibility are clever.
In short, please please please make the effort to go and see this incredible spectacle and escape reality otherwise you'll regret it. It tells a highly-relatable story and is poignant yet funny, scary yet endearing. I can't find any record of where the show is going next but I hope it's somewhere equally as epic as the production itself as the team really deserve big things.
Thank you for a great night and well done.
The musical was inspired by works such as X-Men, Spider-Man and the 2006 musical Spring Awakening and premiered in 2015 at Seattle Reporatory Theatre before Divisionary Theatre in San Diego in 2016 and Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts in Silicon Valley in October 2021. Tonight's show was just over 60 minutes long, which suggets that it has been scaled back from its original form. Nonetheless it's no less entertaining.
Reviewer - John Kristof
on - 19.7.22
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