Ewoks rule at Dad’s Garage
Dad’s Garage’s latest parody musical, Wicket: The Untold Story of the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village is timely, hilarious, and yet another reason to take a night off from the horrors of the news and regular life, throw back a few drinks, and abandon all societal conduct that says you can’t truly LOL. Written by Travis Sharp and Haddon Kime, and directed by Rick Lombardo – a self-pronounced ewok hater – Wicket offers enough laughs without having to understand the in-depth nerdy details that only a true Star Wars fanatic would get.
Wicket is your classic Star Wars tale of the battle of Endor told from the ewoks perspective. I know that the ewoks get hated on. Not as much as Jar Jar Binks but they aren’t really anyone’s favorite character, except mine. I grew up on Star Wars only because my brother was obsessed with it and only really liked Princess Leia and the ewoks. They are so cute and cuddly, and yet ferocious. Hence, the plot of Wicket. The ewoks are a capitalist ploy. These cute, fuzzy beings were created by the Emperor for the purpose of giving the rest of the empire something to play with. But the ewoks are completely unaware of this fact and have been living their adorable lives in the forest.
Karen Cassady plays Wicket and every moment is hilarity gold. From the single spotlight, stand-up-esque scenes where it’s just the audience and Wicket to the full on battles, Cassady proves that size truly does not matter. The ewoks rap, sing, dance, and throw turds at the audience. What’s not to love about that?
Even the Emperor himself sees the value in the ewoks. He created them for their adorableness and inclination to have fun. But, like a true dictator, there was something he missed along his use-creatures-for-self-gain path. Googie Unterhardt’s Emperor is not like any Emperor you have seen before. Sure he’s cruel, selfish, and a total narcissist, but who would thought that within that dark heart there was a talented musical theatre performer.
Behind each evil leader is a posse of followers waiting for their chance to reign. The stand out among the Emperors for next in line: Jayme Alilaw’s Ensign. You may have come for the fart jokes, but you will stay for the goose-bump inducing operatic numbers that Alilaw belts out. Her final power ballad had everyone bowing down opening night.
But amongst all of the struggles for power and cuteness is your show stopper. Welcome, Princess Leia, pardon, Princess Sleia. Played by Eliana Marianes, this Leia is more than a princess who can wield a laser gun and get away with kissing her brother. She’s kind of a bad ass rock star. Wait till she rips off her shirt, nerds. You’ll get your sexy slave bra moment.
Wicket is on stage at Dad’s Garage until October 7. Shows are Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Tickets available at Dadsgarage.com.
