Musical spoof ‘Game of Thrones.’
As fans of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” can attest, Jon Snow knows nothing.
But the creative folks behind “Musical Thrones” definitely know their way around a spoof. Creators Jon and Al Kaplan were the brains behind “Silence! The Musical,” an off-Broadway “Silence of the Lambs” parody. Director TJ Dawe has worked on shows poking fun at “Star Wars,” “Lord of the Rings” and “Sex and the City.”
“Musical Thrones,” which opens a sold-out run at Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts tonight, is a fanfriendly wink at the bloodand sex-soaked TV hit. As seen this week in Lakeland, the jokes don’t always land with the sting of Arya Stark’s sword, Needle. But the good-hearted humor mostly works — especially when the show sets its sights on the elements that go into bringing George R. R. Martin’s twisted tale to television.
The TV actors get skewered: Oliver Rotunno has mastered the unfocused gaze and slack-jawed blankness of Jon Snow’s portrayer, Kit Harington, topped off with a glorious mop of a wig. Likewise, Carly Carlstrom humorously captures both the monotone delivery of Sophie Turner, who plays TV’s Sansa Stark, and the increasingly incomprehensible accent of Sibel Kekilli’s doomed prostitute, Shae.
All of the show’s five actors play multiple parts, a conceit that works to great effect through swell costuming quick-changes — although not adorning Joffrey’s noble head with the trademark Lannister platinum-blond locks is a bizarre misstep.
The multi-role setup leads to an especially silly moment in which J. Timothy Miller, playing both Brienne of Tarth and The Hound, battles himself on stage. Miller shines brightest, though, as Tyrion Lannister, doing a dandy impersonation of TV actor Peter Dinklage’s precise enunciation and distinctive vocal inflections.
Other characters don’t fare as well: Missy Marion is game, but the musical’s Cersei never conveys the slightly mad mix of fanaticism and fatalism that created an iconic villain.
Dawe lets his actors use physical comedy to great effect, and the dance numbers are a hoot — incorporating moves from the Charleston to Madonna’s “Vogue.” Arya is played by a puppet — mouth set in a grim line, eyebrows permanently scrunched up in anger — a brilliant decision that adds to the fun.
Only a few jokes play off contemporary politics — and they are all winners. Most of the songs are winners, too, especially “The Best Dwarf Ever” and “It’s Not Easy Being Khaleesi,” a number more entertaining than anything TV’s Daenerys has done without her dragons.
As with most shows of this type, not every skit hits it out of the park — a Hodor number should be snappier — but making fun of Jon Snow never grows old. Snaps his love interest: “My God, you’re boring.” Later, the audience is reminded how he has “no skill, no talent and no personality.”
This affectionately goofy show, though, displays plenty of all three.