Jurassic Park the musical – it almost seems too good to be true. Being simultaneously cringe-worthy and self aware, this production is one that Jurassic Park fans will not want to miss. Featuring flashy musical numbers starring minor characters from the original film, purposefully awful acting, and a giant cardboard triceratops poo on wheels, this is a parody that you’ll want to be at least two-to-four drinks deep for. Thankfully, the New Theatre allows patrons to take beverages to their seats, so be sure to double park yourself for maximum viewing pleasure.
In the opening musical number, disgruntled archaeology students poke fun at the main character, heroic child-hater Dr Alan Grant, setting the scene and tone of humour. The portrayal of Richard Attenborough’s character (a crazy scientist grandfather with a small-man complex and a penchant for buying islands and tampering with dinosaur DNA) was great, as was Dr Ian Malcolm, agent of chaos. It was disappointing to see how the female lead was portrayed as a brain-dead blonde palaeobotanist, though this was more commentary on how the character was depicted in the original film. Though, the jokes surrounding her character got quite repetitive.
Now I know what you’re thinking – how did they do the dinosaurs? Well, as one of the songs harmonised – “we spared no expense!” In true community theatre style, these fabulously frugal, and at times fragile costumes were largely comprised of elongated cardboard tubes and canvas drop sheets painted in varying shades of green. No words can adequately describe the exclamation of mirth that escaped the crowd as the first brachiosaur stepped on to the stage, so you’ll just have to see it for yourself.
The humour is both bitingly witty and incredibly lame. Some of the best gags come from simplifying characters down to their idiosyncrasies and utilising (an almost surprising number of) plot inconsistencies to their advantage. This makes it particularly accessible for people who haven’t watched the film in a few years.
Definitely unsuitable for children, this musical attempts to tread a fine line when it comes to racial and gender stereotyping, though at times falls very short – this one’s definitely not for people with any sense of political correctness, and will probably make you cringe.
The band and singing were nothing spectacular, but what the cast lack in TONY award-winning talent, they make up for with amazingly terrible puns, hilariously homemade costumes and at least four tap-dancing velociraptors. Despite the amateur elements of this parody, the laughs are well worth the more tedious moments of the production by Lazy Suzann Productions.
Reviewed by Hattie O’Donnell
