BWW Reviews: Balagan's THANKSKILLING Offers Crude and Crass Holiday Fun

It's the day after Thanksgiving and suddenly I feel myself getting attacked from a Thanksgiving turkey. No, it's not my Sister's cooking but the world premiere offering from Balagan Theatre of "Thankskilling, The Musical". It's still the completely offensive and hilarious show I saw in the summer as part of Balagan's Summer New Works readings but now a little more fleshed out. And while the humor is still there the production felt it needed a little more cooking time. The bird was just a tad underdone.

Based on the B horror movie of the same name we meet up with five college students on their way home for Thanksgiving break and who are beset upon by a demonically possessed turkey named Turkie (Jeff Orton) who is bent on the destruction of any white man in his path. It's pretty much your standard horror movie formula. You have the Jock Johnny (Kody Bringman), the Slut Ali (Lindsey Larson), the Hick Billy (Evan Woltz), the Nerd Darren (Evan Hildebrand) and the Virgin Kristen (Larissa Schmitz) who just want a good time but are dispatched as each of them breaks the cardinal horror movie rules (going off alone, having sex, not heeding warnings, etc). And to make it all the more ridiculous, each horror movie cliché has its own number and place in the drinking game of the show as explained by Brian Lange who also plays an assortment of other cliché characters.

Director Douglas Willott does a fine job with keeping things moving along and the crude humor of writers Jeff Thomson and Jordan Mann going and all on a very minimal set. It's kind of an interesting juxtaposition with the recent larger scale productions that Balagan has done that this is more reminiscent of when they used to be in the "basement of the noodle house". But even with that minimal feel the show just needed a little more settling in time (as most shows do) as there were a few wonky moments. But I'm sure with time it will settle into a truly offensive groove.

The five kids each play their archetypes well. Bringman brings a hilarious swagger to his Jock and added in some nice levels to the role. Larson, reprising her role from the summer workshop, brings the same delicious denseness to the Slut. Also taking another turn from the summer, Woltz's boisterous crude take on the Hick is perfect. Schmitz adds in a kind of chipper naiveté to the Virgin. And Hildebrand and his desperate for life Nerd ties it all together with his brains and loyalty to the group. Lange also shines in his multiple roles and keeps that drinking game on track. And then there's Orton with his foul mouthed (yeah I said it) evil psychopathic turkey. Also reprising his role he's still got the same focused chaos to the role but this time they've added a mask based on the film's Turkie and unfortunately it tended to detract from Orton's vocals and expressions. Yeah, he's still funny but having seen him in the workshop where I could see his face; this presentation lacked that extra something. If I had one big complaint about the show it would be that and I think he did fine with the turkey cowl he had before.

But even with its detractors the show still managed a truly outrageous and hysterical good time and a great diversion from the typical holiday offerings. Just try not to desecrate any burial grounds on your way in. You will regret it. Oh, and "G.G.M.F."!

"Thankskilling, The Musical" from Balagan Theatre performs at the Cornish Playhouse Studio though December 14th. For tickets or information visit them online at www.balagantheatre.org.

Photo credit: Jeff Carpenter, Courtesy Balagan Theatre

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