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Let's break down The Toxic Avenger. Nerd goes on a berserk killing spree after being horribly mutated? Check. Blind girl who falls in love with the horribly mutated nerd? Check.A good amount of sexual and New Jersey jokes? Check. Cross dressers? Check. Rock musical?! Check. As ridiculous as these ingredients might sound, mesh them together and you have one hell of a good time laughing at almost every given moment.
Set in the fictional town of Tromaville, New Jersey, toxic pollutants ravage the land because of a corrupt governor. Enter Melvin Ferd the Third (Nick Cordero, who created the role at the George St. Playhouse), a lanky, unconfident, pushover nerd that tries to put an end to it. But, the governor finds out his intentions and has her goons dispose of him by throwing him into a barrel full of toxic. The Toxic Avenger is born as Melvin mutates, receives superhuman strength, and vows to put an end to whoever pollutes.
The play as a whole is satirical, sarcastic and humorous, with no hint of seriousness, but rather all laughs. There are scenes where Melvin rips off the arms and legs of his foes in a comedic fashion, with obviously fake props and blood, while the house band rocks out background music. Irony is shown through the interaction between Melvin and Sarah (American Idol’s Diana DeGarmo), a blind librarian who falls in love with "Toxie," the name she gives him, despite his mutilated face. Their scenes together consisted of catchy tongue in cheek love duets entitled "Hot Toxic Love."
The best part of The Toxic Avenger is the fact there is only a cast of five characters. There are two main actors (Melvin and Sarah) and the other three play every other character.
There is even one scene where one of the actresses is on stage as both of her characters, arguing with each other in song. Not only were they good actors, but everyone was on point with singing, infecting melodies in your head like the closing tune "Who Will Save New Jersey?"
Overall, the mix of music and the stoner comedy aspects of this musical make it a must-see, whether you are a regular play watcher or not.
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