UWG Theatre Closes Their Season With A Heroic Exit 

Abbie Klein

Following the success of “Hamlet,” “Animal Farm,” “Fuddy Meers” and “Episodes: A Cabaret” The UWG Theater Department is putting on their fifth and final show of the season, “The Toxic Avenger” running from April 16-21.

The show is a rock musical adaptation of the cult classic 1984 film “The Toxic Avenger.” The story follows Melvin, an aspiring earth scientist who gets thrown into a vat of toxic waste turning him into a mutant superhero. The story takes on themes such as pollution, politics and disability.

“The main theme is actually about pollution,” said Brae Mooney, a UWG theater marketer. “It’s about like toxic waste and how that leads to destruction. It’s about this guy who gets thrown in a toxic vat by bullies and he turns into a superhero, and then has to stop violence and crime in Tromaville. It’s a funny twist on a superhero’s journey, a thrilling and humorous adventure.” 

The musical originally written by Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, opened in 2008 in New Jersey following the success of “The Toxic Avenger” franchise that consists of four movies, a television series and a comic book series. In 2009 the musical won an award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical along with several other nominations. The show played all over the world up until 2018 when a recording of the performance was released on BroadwayHD.

While the musical has been praised for its silliness and humor, the show is not appropriate for younger viewers. Some of the content discussed includes violence and sexual humor as well as foul language. 

“It’s not appropriate for all audiences because it has crude comedy and a lot of explicit themes,” said Mooney. 

Crude humor and violence is not out of the ordinary for UWG theater. “Fuddy Meers” and “Episodes: A Cabaret” also featured a lot of foul language, violence and sexual innuendos. Because of this the actors are skilled with their comedic timing, even when it deals with heavier topics, to still make the show enjoyable for everyone. 

“It’s been a great season so far, everyone has put in a lot of work to make everything happen and I’m excited to see how this last show goes,” said Mooney. 

One of the biggest challenges for this show has been the costuming. It’s not the easiest task to make an actor look like a toxic mutant superhero, but the UWG costume designers found a way. 

“I’m excited to see how audiences react to the music and costuming. The costume designers have put a lot of work into the show,” said Mooney. 

“The Toxic Avenger” will open for a community preview on April 16 at 7:30 p.m. and run every night after that until April 20 with one final show at 2:30 p.m. on April 21. For tickets and more information visit Current Season | UWG (westga.edu).

“One of the most important parts of my job is getting people interested in the theater company and getting them to see the show,” said Mooney. “I think this is definitely the type of show people want to see.”