David Bryan talks about The Toxic Avenger (and Bon Jovi)

David Bryan

As The Toxic Avenger returns to London's Arts Theatre, I spoke with composer and Bon Jovi keyboards ace, David Bryan

JB:     David , what attracted you to write The Toxic Avenger?

DB:     Joe DiPietro and I, my writing collaborator, we were working on Memphis - a big epic story about the birth of racism, and the birth of rock and roll. We had done some productions of it, and then we were waiting for it to come onto Broadway when Lloyd Kaufman, the man behind Troma Films, he came in and pitched the idea about doing a musical.

So Joe wrote a treatment for it and asked : “can we make it the way we want? Not, the story from the movie," and Lloyd agreed. So we set to work and it was a chance for Joe and I really to write comedy.

It's funny as hell, there's an underlying love story, and the moral of it, still, is about global warming. 

But, it's all set in comedy, and it was a blast. We did it really quickly, and it was great fun.

JB:     The Toxic Avenger is all about satire. What satire and humour appeals to you and who were your comic influences?

DB:     It's funny, Joe and I, we're the same age, we're from New Jersey, and grew up on the same comedians. When I grew up I had more comedy records than rock records!

Growing up it was Eddie Murphy. And then the Saturday Night Live crew was just funny as hell. But, I always loved the side of comedy that was just an intelligent way of looking at things from a different viewpoint. It's great, and it's a great thing to watch people laugh. Laughing is a great therapy.

JB:     The Toxic Avenger is very politically incorrect. How important is political incorrectness in modern comedy ?

DB:     What I think what we did with our piece, was that we mocked everybody. We took the piss out of everybody and everything that we could.

We mocked everything, so no one could accuse of us of bullying on any one angle. If you mock  everything, then it's funny.

JB:     Do you sense any trend in how comedy today is shifting? Do you feel that there is a greater sense of what can and cannot be laughed at in today's era?

DB:     The comedians are the ones that are supposed to push the envelope. All my favourite top comedians were the ones who did push that envelope, and say stuff that everybody thinks, but doesn't want to say. I don't have a problem with that as long as it's done in an intelligent way.

JB:     You’re famous for being the keyboards player in Bon Jovi. Tell me the difference between writing songs for a show and albums for a rock band.

DB:     Same thing. It's just writing a song.  I don't do any research. Joe and I sit down and go, "Okay, here's the character, here's the dilemma, or the journey, or what's the purpose of why this character needs to go from point A to point B, and what's driving him?" I think it's really a human story, if you will. I just put myself in the shoes of that character, and just write it, and let it all come out.

JB:     A good musical has a very clear book that the songs work around. How does the creative arc compare of writing songs for a show compare with the arc of writing songs for a Bon Jovi album?

DB:     Yeah, anytime we approach an album, it's always a beginning, middle, and end and there is a narrative.

In a musical, you have different characters and it’s a little more challenging writing for men, for women, for monsters (!) - it's a whole different world.

But the songs and the story keep evolving together. It's not like one's written in stone, and then the other isn't. We are the kind of writers that don’t just go, here's the story, and now we're going to step out of the side of the story, and here's a song. Our songs always push the characters ahead.

JB:     Within Bon Jovi do you contribute much to the composing?

DB:     Yes!  I classically trained for 15 years, so I understand music. It's really helped in that that is what really separates us from a guitar band, and then you add keyboards. All the big songs that we've had in records, with keyboards you can colour the emotion, really paint a picture. Even in the beginning ... A standout example would be, Wanted Dead or Alive. At the beginning you hear wind, and strings, and all of a sudden you're in a Western. That's what I bring to the table and I love it.

JB:     David, thank you and I wish The Toxic Avenger every success at the Arts Theatre.

The Toxic Avenger plays at The Arts Theatre until 3rd December 

Read my review of The Toxic Avenger here

Photo credit: Irina Chira  

The Toxic Avenger - Review

Arts Theatre, London


****

Book and Lyrics by Joe DiPietro
Music and Lyrics by David Bryan - Click to read my interview with David Bryan
Directed by Benji Sperring

Emma Salvo and Mark Anderson

The recent spate of far from traditional, original musicals - from Book of Mormon to Urinetown - is the best thing to happen to the genre in years. While Carousel will always remain a joy and Singin’ In The Rain a classic, it is fun-fests like The Toxic Avenger, which tells the tale of geek turned environmentally-challenged superhero with tongue firmly in cheek and energy levels set to maximum, that will bring in the new audiences that West End theatre needs.

With a cast of five and live band of even fewer, it’s a wonder in itself that this Southwark Playhouse transfer manages to fill the bigger Arts Theatre stage with as much energy and sheer delight as this ensemble does. It’s no small tale they have to tell, as small town nerd Melvin takes on the corrupt establishment of New Jersey (Who Will Save New Jersey) who are taking bribes from the Manhattan elite so they can continue to dump their waste across the Hudson River. A run in with the town thugs (Get the Geek) lands Melvin in some hot water - well, toxic waste - transforming him into the well meaning if murderous titular character. This fortunately takes his relationship with blind love interest, Sarah, to the next level, despite the smell, (My Big French Boyfriend) but unfortunately prompts the Mayor to seek his particular kryptonite (Evil is Hot). It’s seriously fun, but that’s where the seriousness ends.

Before we get onto the main characters there is the sheer delight that is the dazzling duo of Ché Francis and Oscar Conlon-Morrey, who bring to life the entire supporting cast from pitchfork armed farmer to ringleted folk singer with a fantastically flamboyant flair. Every persona the pair perform is a cartoon through and through, especially Conlon-Morrey’s bouncing and comically vigilant cop, who is the epitome of the grown up Baby Brent from the film Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, and Francis’ nail-filing diva complete with killer legs, heels and pout.

Toxie himself is played by Mark Anderson who somehow manages to maintain the sickly sweetness from Melvin’s pre-toxic geeky days through to the savage and, ahem, more well endowed days of his Toxic Avenger incarnation. His love interest Sarah’s unfortunate blindness brings about the biggest belly laughs as the fourth wall is repeatedly broken to address the ridiculousness of what is happening, from lost canes to nearly walking off the stage. The bouncy and hilarious Emma Salvo is a walking comedy-timing masterclass. The frustration she portrays as Toxie repeatedly foils her attempts to touch her face has the audience absolutely roaring.

This self aware show is full of big voices, dances and farcical falls, with fun at the forefront. The stage is simple, radioactive green and practical, allowing even the blind to make scene changes and the band to join in on the action from time to time. The score is upbeat throughout save for the surprisingly tear-inducing You Tore My Heart Out, where the lyrical genius of Joe DiPietro meets the power ballad talent of David Bryan, best known for his keyboard playing for Bon Jovi.

The Toxic Avenger is unapologetically silly, but it is still a shame when undoubtedly clever lyrics are lost in the enthusiasm and bumbling prop moments take away from the purposeful ones. That’s not to say that this show needs to be flawless to be enjoyed. The script gives a very talented group of performers enough to play with and you can’t help but appreciate every minute, especially when the incredible Natalie Hope’s vengeful Mayor meets Natalie Hope’s sassy Ma and glorious chaos ensues. The silliness is as intoxicating for the cast as it is for the audience.

Runs to 3rd December

Reviewed by Heather Deacon

Photo credit: Irina Chira

Lloyd Kaufman - Creator of The Toxic Avenger - In Conversation

Lloyd Kaufman

The Toxic Avenger - The Musical has received rave reviews on its European premiere at Southwark Playhouse. I had a coffee with "Toxie's" creator and the founder of Troma Pictures, Lloyd Kaufman along with his wife Pat, who were over in London to see the show.  

JB:    Tell me about the creation of Troma pictures, its inspiration.

LK:    Well, Troma descends from a very obscure American university called Yale. It was the '60s, a time for peace and love and make the world a better place, idealism and all that.

I was going to be a teacher or a social worker.  I was going to teach people with hooks for hands how to finger paint, all that kind of stuff. I got put in a room (ok, God fucked up my life) with a movie nut, a guy who ran the film society and I started drifting into the film world.

He was an auteur proponent and the office of the film society had a stack of magazines from the French cinematique, Cahiers du Cinéma. Being a very classy guy, I speak fluent French, so I started reading the magazines. The articles in those days were written by critics, and it was all about the auteur theory and controlling the movies and the movie should be the director's event come from the heart. I bought in to all that.

We had also a very tiny bedroom. Our beds were head to toe, and at night I would inhale the stinking feet of my roommate, and the Aroma du Troma was born and I found that instead of wanting to teach the people with hooks for hands how to finger paint, I decided that I wanted to film them.

The moment I decided, the exact moment I decided, was during a screening of Ernst Lubitsch's 'To Be Or Not To Be', with Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, and Robert Stack. If you want to blame somebody for Troma, go to the graves of Lubitsch,  Stack and Lombard and take a picture.

I mean, if you look at Picasso's work, you will see that he was inspired by the great portrait artists and all that. 

JB:    So, referencing Picasso, do you see yourself as bringing Cubism to the cinema?

LK:    I see myself as bringing Troma-ism to the cinema!

JB:    What are the politics and the origin of The Toxic Avenger?

LK:    I had a Socialist grandmother. Big influence on me

You see the Toxic Avenger films all have a basic premise. There is a town of Tromaville. The little people of Tromaville are perfectly able to run their lives, but they are victims. Firstly of a conspiracy of a labour elite, that's the labour leaders who make millions of dollars while their constituents eat dog food. Then there is the corporate elite and we all know who they are. Finally there is the bureaucratic elite, the Congress of the United States, who have never worked a day in their life for the most part but who all are feeding at the public trough.

And then you get the eco-warrior campaigning guy who runs the Environmental Protection Association or whatever it's called. He goes on to get to be made the chairman of the board of Waste Management, the polluter, the garbage company that pollutes. It’s all one big revolving door.

The little people of Tromaville are sucked dry of their economic and spiritual capital, and sometimes they need The Toxic Avenger (Toxie) to save them! He lives in the dump.

Oh by the way you can't say “superhero” because you get a lawyer's letter from Warner Brother's / Marvel because they own the English language! Yeah, the Elite now owns the language. There are words, “superhero”, you cannot use! This is the world we live in, you have to say 'superhuman', you know? At least we do, because we've gotten lawyers letters.

When The Toxic Avenger was a comic book from Marvel they called him a superhero, but when The Toxic Avenger was no longer a comic book hero with Marvel we used this word 'superhero' and we got, ahem, a nice letter from them.

JB:    And what decided Toxie’s transition into a staged musical.

LK:    David Bryan (one of the composers) had seen The Toxic Avenger in a movie theatre when he was a kid and always wanted to do a musical of it!

JB:    Is there any quarter of society you would not offend?

LK:    I don't think there's anyone I would not mock. But I would draw the line at certain themes.

JB:    Such as?

LK:    In other words, if someone offered me a job directing a movie that suggested that Hillary Clinton was a decent, honest, patriotic citizen……. I would stop. I wouldn't go near it, right?

JB:    So as America gears itself up to have Hillary vs. Donald come November, what would Toxie say, to that?

LK:    Well, you know, Toxie has Tromatons which react automatically. That's part of the pathos of Toxie is that he can't help himself. He kills people who are evil without wanting to! So he might very well kill both of them, I don't know.

JB: A Troma movie at its most visual/visceral level is not for those with the faintest stomach.

LK:    Let me tell you something about the violence. Monty Python, big influence. Big influence. I mean, also, let me tell you that Steven Spielberg does real violence, right? That movie about the war, Saving Private Ryan. That was realistic! 

Saving Private Ryan, and Bruce Willis, Die Hard, that's real violence! Our stuff is cartoony.

CNN has stuff on the morning, as children are eating their little Cheerios, that get to see the stuff in the Balkans, with that war that Clinton helped stop. They've got to wake up with body parts and god knows what, right there on the TV, with their breakfast! Little children. No problem there. But god forbid Troma comes along with 'The Toxic Avenger' 

You cannot legislate morality. It is impossible. They've never done it. I'm 70 years old. They haven't figured out how to do it. You can't do it! 

I mean, what's more violent than the Bible, for heaven sakes? We just toured the National Gallery today. Giant tableaux of people with arrows in them, and, you know, it was violent!

JB: You’ve had some talented people start out with you and Troma. Trey Parker who created South Park and Book of Mormon and Eli Roth who is an acclaimed horror director. How proud are you of these wunderkind alumni?

LK:    I'm extremely proud! 

JB:    After this show, do you see any future Troma inspired musicals? 

LK:    Well I made a movie called 'Poultrygeist: The Night of the Chicken Dead', which is a kind of a musical. It’s got singing and dancing and it’s about the anti-fast-food movement.

JB:     Finally, is there any question that you wish I’d asked that I haven’t?

Pat Kaufman:    You could ask him, how did you get that fabulous wife?

JB:    Excuse me for not asking that question! Where did you meet your fabulous wife?

LK:    I'm asked very often what I am most proud of. I think I'm most proud of the fact that I've been married for 42 years to the same person.

 And I've had the same partner for 42 years, Michael Herz. We've never had a written contract. He can empty the bank account any time he wants. - Not that there's anything in there, but he could empty it at any time!

JB:    Lloyd Kaufman - and Pat - Thank you for your time. 

The Toxic Avenger plays at the Southwark Playhouse until 21st May

Mark Anderson as The Toxic Avenger at Southwark Playhouse

The Toxic Avenger The Musical - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London


****


Book and Lyrics by Joe DiPietro
Music and Lyrics by David Bryan
Directed by Benji Sperring

The company

There's a fabulous pedigree behind the satirical jaunt that is The Toxic Avenger - The Musical. Inspired by the Troma Studios b-movies of the same name and with music and lyrics by David Bryan (he of Bon Jovi) and Joe DiPietro (both of Memphis fame), the show is an irreverent pastiche of late 20th century America.

Set against the toxically polluted backdrop of “Tromaville”, New Jersey, Mark Anderson is Melvin Ferd The Third, inadequate but essentially good, who gets dropped into a vat of toxic waste by hoodlums. He survives the dunking but emerges as Toxie, a hideously deformed mutant with superhuman powers who sets out to win the heart of Sarah, a (conveniently) blind librarian. To describe the show as tongue in cheek could almost be an obtuse reference to the grotesque prosthetic (good work from Jonathan Moriarty North's studios) that Anderson sports as Toxie. But this musical's not to be taken seriously and it's only to be seen by those who share that guilty pleasure of liking like their comedy served bloody, with a large helping of political incorrectness on the side.

Deliberately setting out to spoof itself by requiring a cast of only five, Anderson along with Hannah Grover who plays Sarah, are the only actors allowed to stay in role throughout. The remaining multitude of characters are made up by Ashley Samuels and Marc Pickering who spin through costume changes with breathtaking speed and Lizzii Hills who spends her time alternating between Tromaville's Mayor and Melvin's mother - and who closes act one hilariously as her two characters fight (each other!) in a number aptly entitled Bitch/Slut/Liar/Whore.

There's merciless mockery in Bryan and DiPietro's lyrics and the show drips with wit and some killer lyrics. That Toxie’s stench, can be rhymed not only with “french” but also with “mensch” is a stroke of genius. If some of the satire sometimes flags, when it’s good it’s inspired. Pickering’s appearance as a Folk Singer with The Legend Of The Toxic Avenger is a spot-on tribute to John Cougar’s Jack and Diane, whilst Anderson’s You Tore My Heart Out will stay with me for a long time. 

The creative work is classy too, with Mike Lee’s set design, all skyline, vats, and steam-belching oil drums cleverly re-creating New Jersey’s polluted shoreline. Set above the stage, Alex Beetschen’s band make fine work of a score that’s epic in its range.

If you enjoy comedy-horror that while being carefully (and expensively) crafted, refuses to take itself seriously, you'll love The Toxic Avenger. Not for the easily offended, this is top-notch trash! 

Runs until 21st May

Picture credit: Claire Bilyard