Medieval Story Land’ – the fun sendup of adventure stories is plain fun. We begin our journey with the “hero,” a young elf named Todd (played joyfully by Forrest Rilling). Todd is an idiot and he knows it. He is endearing and manages to elude one bad guy after another with the help of the companions that he picks up along his quest. Now, the quest begins as he beats the crap out of The Millennium Wizard (Nick Torres) and takes a magic sword that only he can unsheathe. This triggers a series of events that lead he and his compatriots The Red Knight (Justus Hammond), Whisker-Toe the Dwarf (Becca Korn), and Graglore the Troll (Scott Courlander {who also wrote the show}) to the final battle with The Dark Black Darkness. There are many hijinks and side quests that happen during the main storyline and most of them are great ways to flesh out the characters as they move down the road to their Destiny (Jacqueline Chenault {yes, destiny is a lady [and a fickle one, at that]}).
There were some wonderful performances in the piece. Scott Courlander’s comic timing was delightful and really punched up several scenes that were in need of a bit more pacing. John Dellaporta (Green Todd and Gil) plays sinister with such panache that you just can’t help but love to hate him. The ensemble was terrific (Katie Zitz, Mark McCarver, Kelsey Meiklejohn, Jacqueline Chenault) and played several supporting roles apiece. There was never a question about who was who because the costuming was just gorgeous (Lois Dunlop is amazing). And, most of the time, the Narrator (Stephen Mead) had a light and funny way to move us from scene to scene.
Now, there were some issues. In the main party Becca Korn was outmatched by the other three heroes. Most of her lines fell flat because, while she had an enormous amount of enthusiasm, she had very little comic timing. Mark McCarver’s Blue Knight (who’s job it was to stand in the back and randomly say “I’m the blue knight”) quickly became old hat. And while Stephen Mead was light and fun, his performance didn’t vary widely enough to carry the one joke that he had been given (which was carried through the entire show). And there was a power outage in the middle of the show, but that turned out to be more fun than a barrel full of monkeys (Justus Hammond’s quick and witty response to the event really elevated the evening)!
But despite all that, this is a show to see! The great, fun moments heavily outweigh those that miss their mark. This is one of those stories that is light-hearted and fun and should be enjoyed as such. If you are looking for a deeper meaning, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a fun and fabulous show that will keep you laughing, see this one! You will feel light and lovely as you exit remembering the fun you had as a child adventuring in your own magical worlds (and the fun you can have as an adult poking fun at it!).
Medieval Story Land is showing at these times:
Nov. 10th @ 1pm
Nov. 17th @ 5:15pm
Nov. 18th @ 1pm
Purchase tickets.
Venue: THE SHOP – Fort Fringe
607 New York Ave, NW, in Washington DC, 20001
