Stranger Sings

Hysteria stars in the energetic musical parody “Stranger Sings.” For those who are devotees of the Netflix sci-fi thriller pinned to a cast of teenagers, a mother, sheriff, girl with supernatural abilities and oh yea, the monster — Stranger Sings nails the “upside down” and “right-side-up” mayhem.

Adhering to the serial’s characters and early plot lines, the effervescent talent and ingenuity conspire in sourcing an evening of entertainment all will enjoy, regardless of familiarity with the original.

Without any previous knowledge of the series, my date howled at the overwrought Mother, Joyce (Caroline Kennedy), tough/ softie Sheriff Hopper (Shawn W. Smith), the hunky Steve (Garrett Paladian) committed to his “great” hair and chick magnetism, as well as the overlooked “friend” Barb (a knockout singer, SLee) the supernatural Eleven (Harley Sleger) whose nose bleeds after every super act, along with the nerd pals Lucas (Jamir Brown), Dustin (Jeremiah Garcia), and Mike (Jeffrey Laughrun).

Hardly worth explaining the plot, Stranger Singstoys faithfully with the interaction of the characters, zapped into frenzied passions by the tuneful music and songs by by the talented Jonathan Hogue.

Written by Hogue and turbo charged by director Nick Flatto, the audience surrounds the small square performance space. Whiplash costume changes shock the senses, entrances and exits punctuate some hilarious choreography by Ashley Marinelli–(including serious ballet moves) and the horror of it all is embedded in the high-energy score.

A youthful “je ne sais pas” feeds the tightly scripted parody that does not fail to raise everyone’s spirits at Playhouse 46.
EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Celia Ipiotis