‘Dr. Horrible’ adaptation anemic, but offers genuine comic spirit

"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," now at the Onyx, feels like an old comic book mated with a YouTube amateur music video. Its small-scaled silliness likely will appeal to those of us who have managed to maintain our infantile sense of humor.

The 2008 Internet series was put together during the Hollywood writers strike. The book and score is a sort of "Batman" (the TV series) meets "Rocky Horror Show" meets "South Park." Young, wholesome big-city existentialist Billy (who also masquerades as the villain Dr. Horrible) battles Captain Hammer for the soul and body of the sweet, naive Penny, who wants only to help the downtrodden. Nasty Hammer winds up becoming a hero, which causes Billy to question not just the meaning of heroism, but the meaning of it all.

The action wisely alternates between the small performance area and a big screen far stage left. And the score has enough cleverness to serve as welcomed addition to the storyline.

Local director and adapter Sirc Michaels finds the right attitude for this humorous drivel. He makes sure the cast members seem to be enjoying themselves, while also paying heed to character detail and pace.

Michael Kimm, as Billy/Horrible, comes across as a boyishly well-meaning Everyman. Thomas Chrastka, as Hammer, bullies so charismatically that you enjoy his meanness. You've got to pity Drew Lorentz's character of Moist for the actor's puppy-dog discomfort in living up to his name. And, as Penny, actress Jessenia Paz possess such a simple, sane, unaffected presence and singing voice that it's easy to believe her character is as unassuming as she's supposed to be.

The eight-member ensemble often suggests the human embodiment of urban decay. Their downturned smiles, evil glares and gothic look make you understand why America is badly in need of superheroes.

This 50-minute jokefest has genuine comic spirit, but it's an anemic stage show. (Michaels was extremely limited in what he was permitted to do as an adapter.) The script needs a firmer dramatic arc.

The original writers, by their unwillingness to transform their script into a more stage-friendly enterprise, may be sabotaging themselves. Are they aware of just how much a cult theater classic "Dr. Horrible" deserves to be?

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at vegastheaterchat @aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.