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A rollicking schlock-operetta, StageWorks Inkâs Flash Ah-AHHH! pays faithful tribute to 1980 camp classic Flash Gordonâand
takes it a step further by shoehorning a dozen Queen classics into the
show alongside the titular smash song. While the troupeâs Varsity Cheerleader Werewolves LIVE From Outer Space and The Adventures of Dex Dixon: Paranormal Dick
veered toward extended improv skit or burlesque pastiche, this latest
spoof embraces B-movie grandeur through music-hall ebullience and
tent-revival triumphalism. Between the daft iconography, the âheâll save
every one of usâ tropes, and the hint of the devotional in every
Freddie Mercury impression, the effect is something like a Godspell
panto dreamt up in a church basement by an assemblage of boozy
dramatists and the neighborhood kids theyâve press-ganged into service
as a live band. Among the cast, Tasha Danner is an incandescent Dale
Arden, Jake Sauvageau imagines Dr. Zarkov through an Iron & Wine
prism, Jonathan Hall sneers droll menace as Ming the Merciless, and
StageWorks mainstay Steve Coker treats Vultanâs Falstaffian swagger with
a nimble touch. Well aware the lunatic source material needs no
elaboration, the performers invest themselves in rousing renditions that
manage to underplay the originalâs hamminess while spotlighting quieter
amusements, such as flight attendants incorporating safety
demonstrations into their choreography, loungey nods to âUnder Pressureâ
and Mingâs serpentine lick of a weaponized Ring Pop. Gordon has risen
indeed.
SEE IT: Flash Ah-AHHH! is at the Funhouse Lounge, 2432 SE 11th Ave., 841-6734. 7 pm Thursdays-Saturdays through March 1. $10-$15.
WWeek 2015
