Disaster! (Ovation Theater 2019)

Ovation Theater had a special for Father’s Day weekend, so we decided to take a chance and go see this. The basic premise is a send-up of 1970s disaster movies, built around iconic music from the era. Make no mistake, the lines are cheesy, the dialogue silly, and everything is way over the top. There were some flaws in the execution. But it was fun. 

The musical takes place on a casino boat, run by the shady Tony (Jason McClain). A variety of characters happen to be on board. Reporter Marianne (Nichole Michelle) tries to uncover illegal operating conditions on the boat. Dour disaster expert Ted (Rikk Cheshire) attempts to warn the passengers and crew of impending disaster. Sister Mary Downy (Renee Cleek) tries to warn everyone they are going to hell - even as she fights her own gambling addiction. Faded Disco star Levora Verona (Caitlin Wolfenstein) hopes to banish her debts with a lucky chance. Older couple Maury and Shirley (real life couple Adam & Terri Cline) are hoping to celebrate retirement. Also featured are dancer Jackie (Erika Kimmel) and her twin children Lisa and Ben (both played by Ellie King), waiters Chad and Scott (Derrek Reed and Dominic Demay), and assorted minor crew and guests.

Never exactly explained is how the combination of poor pier construction and disco dancing is expected to trigger an earthquake and tsunami - the idea is supposed to be silly of course. But disaster does come, and the characters must find a way to survive...or not.

The plot itself exists primarily to set up the songs. Which are used mostly in completely inappropriate ways. For example, “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen, sung by an impaled and dying Scott. Or “Torn Between Two Lovers” sung by Sister Mary Downy to describe the call of religion and the slot machine. Or a dispute about whose watch is more accurate (while the boat is sinking, of course) leading to “25 or 6 to 4.” That’s to say nothing of “Feelings,” or “Knock Three Times.” Part of the fun was trying to guess which song was being set up by the dialogue. (It’s rather like trying to guess the punchline of a terrible pun.)

As I noted, there was some unevenness to this production. One of the good parts was the use of a live band. (I also knew some of the musicians - it’s a close musical community in this town.) The downside to this was that disco beats (from my former community college orchestra director Robbie Martinez) can only be played at a certain volume level. With a small space and limited backstage, this meant that sound levels were challenging. Additionally, we had a very enthusiastic person behind us, who laughed or cheered during dialogue or songs - which we then missed. Keeping the vocals audible was a challenge - I appreciate that, having been there myself. The other issue that the mixing posed was a certain disconnect between the band and vocals. They couldn’t see each other (except, presumably on video), and the singers had a bit of difficulty finding the pitch with the drums and bass louder than the midrange.

On the plus side, the actors didn’t mail this one in, but really bought into the cheese. Performances were rather over the top and exaggerated - exactly what was needed in this case. I particularly thought Derrek Reed as Chad was hilarious during his musical numbers. In general, the others were somewhere between decent and excellent.

Just a few other things to mention. The ongoing gag of Ben and Lisa - with quick hair changes being the only way you could tell them apart - including some visual gags involving hands - was pretty funny. Likewise, the use of disembodied arms and legs. And piranhas.

Anyway, we found it entertaining in a silly way. As did the kids. If you are a Kern County local, the show runs the next two weekends.

https://theovationtheatre.com/disaster/