Trogg! A Musical at Hell in a Handbag Productions | Theater review

Loosely (very loosely) based on the widely panned 1970 Joan Crawford vehicle Trog, Hell in a Handbag’s first new musical in four years is long on charm but short on substance. When the initial novelty of Cerda’s drag beach-party parody wears off, there’s not much left; being fluffy and fun is an appropriate homage to his inspiration, but it’s not enough to sustain two hours.

When a group of teenagers discovers “a big furry monster in the cave that is under the dock, on the beach, by the cove, past the hot dog stand near the rock” (an oft-repeated refrain that wobbles between cute and crutch), anthropologist Dr. Joan Cannon (Cerda) and her assistant Carol Ann (Jones) believe it’s an unfrozen caveman. The duo (a brilliant pairing) captures it for scientific research, much to the chagrin of the mayor, who wants the supposedly dangerous creature housed in a zoo. Meanwhile, Dr. Joan’s daughter Barbara (Lesinski) tries desperately to connect with her icy mother, who seems to prefer lab rats over her child.

Trogg’s strength is its enthusiastic and genre-perfect ensemble, shaped by Ferguson’s keen eye for detail. Evoking Mommie Dearest, Cerda is hilarious, though he’s rivaled by scene-stealers Jones and Grelle (who evokes a strange but fantastic combination of Megan Mullally, Cheri Oteri and Penny from Hairspray). The dialogue needs tightening, but mostly it’s too bad this game cast spends so much time belting repetitive songs that rarely advance the plot or provide character depth.