Written by Joe DiPietro and David Bryan
Directed by John Rando
Synopsis: The Toxic Avenger is set in the mythical town of Tromaville, Exit 13B off the New Jersey Turnpike. An aspiring earth scientist, Melvin Ferd the Third, is determined to clean up the town's burgeoning toxic waste, until he is tossed into a vat of radioactive goo and emerges as a seven-foot mutant freak and New Jersey's first superhero. Armed with superhuman strength and a heart as big as Newark, he's out to save New Jersey, end global warming and woo Sarah, the prettiest, blindest librarian in town.
NEW YORK TIMES:
"There’s not much more in the way of drama, but the real problem with “Toxic Avenger” is less the paucity of plot than the monotony of the elbow-in-ribs handling. Mr. Bryan’s music is competent but hardly complicated pop-rock that provides a plain base for his and Mr. DiPietro’s relatively crude lyrics."
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NEW YORK POST:
"HEADS up, Shrek. There's a new green monster in town, and his show is hilarious."
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THEATERMANIA:
"While there are times when the book could benefit from some judicious pruning, the laughs come fast and furious throughout the 100-minute enterprise. And while the songs are predominantly in the hard rock mode, they also include a grand Bruce Springsteen/John Cougar Mellencamp-like folk song and a couple of delightful send-ups of girl group power ballads."
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VARIETY:
"It also has pacing problems and a few gags that run too long, but it manages to thoroughly entertain even when it slacks off. "
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BACKSTAGE:
"Apparently, jokes about New Jersey as the trash can of the Northeast are still funny, gentrification be damned. Equally still funny, for that matter, is making fun of the elderly, the blind, powerful women, musical theatre, Bob Dylan, environmentalism, gory violence, Oprah Winfrey, and anything worth sentimentalizing. The result of all this blasphemy is The Toxic Avenger, which delivers a riotously good time and proves again that talent and trash are not incompatible."
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NYTHEATRE.COM:
"The first is that Rando, Tony Award winner for Urinetown, is probably the best director of camp in New York. The second is that Nancy Opel is one of the most valuable actresses anywhere. The third is that no matter how many times and ways you see a joke coming down the pike, if it's done right, it's absolutely hilarious. "
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