Review two:
Singing Visitors from Outer Space Deliver Treasures
by Stan Jenson, Blade Magazine
May 8, 2008
Anaheim’s Chance Theater, celebrating its tenth season, was recently voted the #2 Live Theater Group in OC by the readers of The Register (SCR topped the list). They are probably the county’s top interpreter of serious works like Sondheim musicals and such, but their current production, The Brain From Planet X, is proof that when silly material is presented by an excellent company, the results can be spectacular.
The Brain from Planet X, with music, lyrics and direction by Bruce Kimmel, is a send-up of those bad sci-fi movies of the 50’s, much in the vein of The Rocky Horror Show. A slapdash trio of aliens from Planet X visits Planet Earth with the intention of world domination. Quite naturally, they decide to start with the San Fernando Valley. Little do they anticipate the wily resistance of local inventor Fred Bunson, his doting wife Joyce, and their lovely daughter Donna. Various scenes are lovingly lifted from such cinematic giants as "Invaders From Mars," "The Creeping Terror," and "Plan Nine from Outer Space." We encounter such obligatory characters as the military leader General Mills and his adjunct, Private Parts; Joyce’s dying-but-clever octogenarian father, Professor Leder; and Donna’s amorous beatnik boyfriend Rod. 1958 was never this much fun!
In the hands of a lesser company, this show could be tedious, but at The Chance, it sparkles. Allison Appleby and Bob Simpson excel as the uber-ordinary Valley couple, Fred and Joyce. She lovingly welcomes him home from work each evening with a cold beer and a Donna Reed smile – that is, until the Behavior Modification Ray of the aliens turns her into an emotionless automation. The military wants to bomb the sinister alien craft, but cannot pierce its shield without the secret invention of Fred and Professor Leder. You’ve heard all these lines before, but in this combination, they’re hilarious.
The aliens themselves include Yoni (Emily Clark), a man-hungry female, and Zubrick (Daniel Berlin), a man-hungry male. They are led by the deadpan Brain (Mark Rothman). Picture Ben Stein with his brain on the outside of his head doing Vaudevillian soft shoe in a floor-length glittering cape. It’s that sort of a show. Also noteworthy are Michael Irish as the narrator (who doubles as the geriatric Professor Leder) and Shannon Cudd as the libidinous daughter.
The 17 songs are bright and brief, accompanied by an offstage trio capably led by Bill Strongin. The voices are uniformly excellent, and the radio microphones make every syllable audible without actually sounding amplified. Adam Cates’ choreography is lively, appropriate, and damned funny. At the very mention of a brain tap, the entire cast dons tap shoes and does a production number. Masako Tobaru’s extensive use of projections allows her set design to rapidly move from location to location.
In short, The Brain From Planet X is a delight from beginning to end, fast moving and constantly fun. Writer/director Bruce Kimmel has lovingly mined every cliché for maximum laughs, and keeps his excellent company moving at locomotive speed. See it – or risk annihilation from the planet!
“The Brain From Planet X” continues at The Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Ave, Anaheim Hills, 92807, through June 8. Tickets are $27 - $30, and available at
www.chancetheater.com, or by phone at (714) 777-3033.
