Newest theater production offers sex, sin, and superheroes
Chances are you witnessed the viral marketing employed by the theatre department on campus Wednesday in anticipation of “The Vampire Cowboy Trilogy.” Its first 2013 production has everything that a red-blooded boy could want: sex, violence, profanity, and other corruptions that are sure to have you fighting for a seat in the Black Box Theatre.
The trilogy is broken into three portions, divided by short films that help separate each episode and keep the whole show moving. This proves infinitely helpful in grabbing short-attention spans right through to the finish. The films also provided an artful and sobering transition to
the next goofy portion. Think one part spaghetti western, one part samurai movie.
The individual “episodes” of the trilogy parody cheesy detective dramas, communism battling comic book heroes, and 90s supernatural fantasy adventures. It’s perfect for someone with high caliber attention deficit disorder.
The first episode follows Jake Misco, an egocentric narrating private eye that has no internal monologue (much to the ire of Molly, his unimpressed foreign secretary). After Misco berates his scruffy janitor, a distressed damsel suffering from amnesia strolls into his office. Misco must then choose between wooing the mystery lady, and blowing his chances at seducing the secretary.
The second episode centers on the adventures of 1950s anti-Commie crusaders, “Captain Justice & Liberty Lady,” as they battle “The Hooded Menace” and his international ninja henchmen. The battle against the evils of communism breaks down when The Hooded Menace teams up with “The Specter” forcing the brave crime-fighters to descend into a brutal barn-burning, pro-wrestling free-for-all.
The third episode follows “Tina, Teenage Warrior Princess” and her dweeby sidekick, Gabbi. They join forces and battle the evil Missy, Helenic High cheer captain, and her armies of zombie cheerleaders and filthy hippie stoners. A dark secret from Tina’s past comes back to haunt her, putting her friendship with Gabbi, and more importantly, her credibility as a Teenage Warrior Princess, in jeopardy.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the preview performance. The lighting and hybridized multimedia integration was on-point, but the crackling of the interlude music proved to be mildly distracting. Costuming was equally phenomenal, and the fight scenes were well-choreographed. My only negative criticisms, while brief, are significant. The accents seemed a bit off at some points, and I could have really done without the closing musical numbers, but that’s a matter of personal taste.
The play runs from Thursday till Sunday, so you have no reason not to sink your teeth into Vampire Cowboy Trilogy. 10/10, would watch again.