Pocket Sandwich Theatre has again brought us a delightful, ridiculous, wonderfully entertaining, popcorn-tossing spoof. No one exploits the preposterous with such giddy cheer as PST. Playwright and actor Nick Haley has written this silly send-up of The Lord of the Rings, though other references to pop culture fly fast and furious-ly. Harry Potter, Donnie Darko and My Little Pony (not to mention painful puns) just to name a few. If you are unacquainted with the sorcery and satire that is PST, well, more’s the pity, but here’s your opportunity to partake of this inspired evening of merriment and mockery. You should know that there will be much throwing of popcorn, both at the brave souls who occupy the stage, and your fellow audience members. By the time you head for the parking lot, you’ll swear it’s been snowing. Audience participation, whether cheering, booing or romantically sighing, is heartily encouraged.
Fido and his Herbbitt friends: Plucky, Simon and Mummer, have been summoned by Dumbledalf to destroy the Sable Impetus, lest The Dark Lord use its powers of invisibility for wickedness and vile purpose. An evil wizard named Gargamot assists The Dark Lord in his despicable plans. The journey is long and arduous with many perils along the way. Not the least of which is the hazards of romance. Haley doesn’t let any grass grow under their feet, there’s plenty of sturm und drang (of the comic melodrama sort) and, in the fine tradition of Looney Tunes, plenty of blue humor nudges to the adults.
[The kids are too busy flinging jiffy pop anyway.] There are titanic battles between Good and Evil, interesting ‘shroom experiments, and creepy, creepy ginormous creatures with a healthy appetite for do-gooders, In Herbbits, Wizards and Borks – Oh My! Pocket Sandwich once again demonstrates their endless capacity for loopy lunacy and imaginative antics.
Rodney Dobbs uses his considerable skill to create a vivid set that is appropriately low-tech, quaint and pragmatic. Director Dennis G. W. Millegan sets just the right tone for this fatuous farce. The actors know how to keep the energy high but the frenzy controlled. What must the performer’s motivation be when he’s about to be swallowed by some huge, crustaceous golly-wog? When a Scottish villain is caterwauling, how much brogue is too much? Somehow Millegan and this brazen and bubbly cast get the chemistry just right. It’s worth noting that in this when there is so much rage and frustration in the news, when emotions are running high and disappointments come at us without mercy, maybe a clever, ticklish comedy like Herbbits, Wizards and Borks – Oh My! is exactly what we need.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre proudly presents : Herbbits, Wizards and Borks – Oh My!, running July 1st through August 20th, 2016. 5400 E. Mockingbird Lane. Dallas, TX 75206. (214) 821-4643