Hell in a Handbag Productions’ “Poor People”/Photo: Rick Aguilar Studios
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What do Little Orphan Annie, Bob Fosse, “Les Misérables,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Little Shop of Horrors” all have in common?
They’re all spoofed in “Poor People,” a new parody musical by Hell in a Handbag Productions, written by Tyler Anthony Smith and directed by Stephanie Shaw, running through June 16 at The Chopin Theatre. Classic songs like “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” “Easy Street,” “The Music of the Night,” “Suddenly Seymour” and more are refreshed with absurd new lyrics and framed by a mash-up story that is crass, sardonic and deliciously campy.
The plot takes us from a dilapidated New York City orphanage in 1979 to nineteenth-century France. Li’l Orphan Arnie (Dakota Hughes) is the freckled, red-headed and asexual protagonist who longs to escape from the orphanage run by the sex-starved and meth-cooking Ms. Afghanistan (Sydney Genco).
After adopting an anthropomorphic, jazz-dancing cat named Fosse Kitty (Matty Bettencourt), Arnie and their new pet tumble down a portal to the past which lands them in Paris, 1815. They encounter a super sexy prostitute with a heart of gold, Nance (Tyler Anthony Smith), who acts as a temporary guardian to Arnie while helping them search for their lost parents.
Along the way, they encounter an audacious cast of characters. A Beggar Woman (Elizabeth Lesinski) solicits them to purchase her collection of bodily appendages—“You’re selling ‘alms’?” “No, ‘arms!’” Mama Moneybags (Brittney Brown) is a time-traveling Republican from 2024 who seeks to end prostitution at its roots. The Groomer of the Flop’ra (Shane Roberie) peers from behind his half-face mask at Nance, who he’s been grooming to be his sex slave. The number of characters based on musical theater archetypes is vast, and theater nerds will have a tremendous time picking out all the Easter eggs littered throughout the show.
“Poor People,” with Dakota Hughes and Tyler Anthony Smith/Photo: Rick Aguilar Studios
Executive producer David Cerda returns in the role of Fagin (pronounced fag-in). Cerda is as provocative as ever, especially while delivering a blistering exegesis about The New Testament that would undoubtedly draw some angry letters should it be printed here. Cerda doesn’t give a flying phantom about convention, and their devil-may-care attitude is a highlight of every Hell in a Handbag production.
The show steps up its game with standalone dance numbers choreographed by Christopher Kelley, performed by Bettencourt as Fosse Cat and Patrick O’Keefe as Twinky. Channeling their inner Ann Reinking, the pair roll their shoulders while tilting their heads and curling their wrists in the style of Bob Fosse. Fosse’s subtle and sexy style, besides being another fun reference, works well in the medium-sized theater space and allows the dancers to hold nothing back and inject sensual personality into the numbers.
The grandiose score is performed solo by music director Andrew Milliken, who sings along and plays so many concurrent parts that it sounds like he has five arms instead of two.
All the singing is topnotch, but I would be remiss not to give exceptional mention to Hughes as Arnie. In upper register, their voice has no limit. They even ghost-sing for other actors when the vocal part is too demanding—played up as a joke, of course. Precise comedic timing, athletic slapstick pratfalls and operatic singing prove Hughes to be one hell of a performer.
Playwright Tyler Anthony Smith exhibits a deep love and understanding of musical theater through their utter evisceration of these beloved properties. The twisted versions of classic characters are formed with love and care, and after seeing “Poor People” you’ll never look at them the same way again.
“Poor People” is presented by Hell in a Handbag Productions and runs through June 23 at The Chopin Theatre, 1543 West Division. Showtimes are Thursday-Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 4pm. Tickets are $42 ($60 VIP reserved seating) at handbagproductions.org.
