It’s always good to hear that a fringe show is moving to a bigger, more central venue and that’s exactly what will happen on September 28th when musical, The Toxic Avenger, transfers to the Arts Theatre for a strictly limited 10-week season.
It began its London life at Southwark Playhouse attracting sold out houses and 6 Off West End Award nominations including Best New Musical.
It’s written by the team behind recent Off West End hit Memphis, composer and lyricist David Bryan (Keyboard Player and Founding Member of the hit band Bon Jovi) and the book writer and lyricist Joe DiPietro.
Whilst I was directing a play by DiPietro he took me to New Jersey to see the original production of Toxic Avenger and it was terrific, raucous fun that had an audience of all ages rocking and rolling with laughter. New Jersey is central to the whole project as both writers come from there and fell in love with the only super hero to hail from their neighbourhood.
By day he’s Melvin Ferd the Third, an aspiring earth scientist, determined to fight city hall and clean up the state’s major toxic waste problem. An impossible task until he falls into a vat of toxic waste... transforming him into superhero, The Toxic Avenger, described by the press release as “a 7-foot mutant freak with superhuman strength and a supersized heart to match. He’s out to save heavily polluted New Jersey, end global warming, win the heart of the prettiest (blindest) librarian in town and get home in time for dinner!”
A new cast will be announced but the Southwark Playhouse creative team return led by director Benji Sperring; Musical Director, Alex Beetschen; Lighting Designer, Nic Farman and choreographer Lucie Pankhurst. The show is produced by Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment and Derek Nicol and Paul Walden for Flying Entertainment.
The character was the original brainchild of Lloyd Kaufman, co-founder, with Yale friend Michael Herz, of the 42-year-old legendary Troma Entertainment where he directed many of Troma’s trashy horror films, including “The Toxic Avenger”, “Class of Nuke ‘Em High”, “Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD”, “Tromeo & Juliet” and “Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead”.
The Toxic Avenger, who takes up residence at the