Triassic Parq! Minneapolis Musical Theatre’s Regional Premiere at Lush in Minneapolis

Triassic Parq! is a great idea for an outrageous musical. Jurassic Park told from the point of view of the dinosaurs. If you remember the film, the line “life finds a way” refers to how the dinosaurs manage to procreate even though they are all genetically engineered to be female. The gene sequencing of the dino DNA was incomplete and the scientists filled in the gaps with frog DNA. Some frogs can change their gender if needed and thus one of the dinosaurs becomes male. There is an interesting theme there that could be a wonderful allegory for the Transgender community. But like most nuggets of potential in this show, with book and lyrics by Marshall Pailet, Bryce Norbitz, and Steve Wargo with music by Pailet, it never amounts to much of anything. It’s a show full of potential written by people without the wit or vision to capitalize on an idea brimming with possibilities.

The show doesn’t know what it wants to be and thus doesn’t commit to anything. Does it want to be a parody of Jurassic Park following the films plot but with a perspective change and comedy? Then it needs to be funnier. Does it want to be an LGBTQ+ anthem? Then it needs to embrace those aspects much more. Does it want to be a raunchy adults only show full of risque humor? Then it needs to go a lot further. Before seeing the show I enjoyed a lovely brunch in Lush’s bar area with some fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers and one said he’d be surprised if there wasn’t a joke about a Triceratops and Tricerabottoms, which is far better than anything in this script. As for the songs, in general they were much too loud and bombastic for my taste. There were a couple of songs that were alright, but again nothing that proclaimed itself as particularly clever or moving. This is not a reflection on the cast or the theater company, Minneapolis Musical Theatre, the issue is completely with the material, not the execution.

As for the execution let me first say that Minneapolis Musical Theatre whose motto is “Rare Musicals, Well Done” holds a special place in my heart. They produced one of the shows, Be More Chill, that led directly to me starting The Stages of MN. They produce the kinds of musicals that don’t get produced by other theaters and that’s a valuable thing, and I’ve seen a lot of really fun and interesting shows produced by them. When that is your mission, occasionally you are gonna hit on something that just doesn’t work. For the most part, I enjoyed the cast; they were doing everything they could with the material as was director Kjer Whiting. A couple of the performers were pushing outside their vocal range but others were really strong. The band led by Musical Director and Pianosaurus Amanda Weis were excellent, again unfortunate that they didn’t have something more memorable to perform. Unfortunately it’s hard to make a lump of coal sparkle no matter how much you try.

Perhaps my expectations were too high going into this as I saw all the possibilities and felt the end result squandered the majority of them. It isn’t without its charms mainly a cast and crew that give it their all. While I can’t recommend the show very highly, I know that some I was with found it more enjoyable than I did. But whether you decide to take in Triassic Parq! or not, I encourage you to make a donation to Minneapolis Musical Theatre, the work they do in bringing us rare musicals is important and needs to be supported. Triassic Parq! runs through April 13th at LUSH Lounge & Theater, 990 Central Avenue NE in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.aboutmmt.org/tickets/

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