Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical, currently playing at the New York International Fringe Festival through July 27th, begins with Morgan Freeman (Lee Seymour), the narrator, asking a series of questions: Why “Parq” with a “Q”“ What does the “Q” stand for? It stands for “Question.” What is the question? “Why have you all been lied to?”  As Jurassic Parq unfolds from the point of view of the dinosaurs, the real story of what happened on the island emerges.

The scientists of Jurassic Park, in the original Michael Crichton novel and the Steven Spielberg-directed film adaptation as well as in Jurassic Parq, used frog DNA to fill in the DNA holes when reconstructing the dinosaurs, not realizing or forgetting that some frogs can switch gender. As a result, the newly created dinosaurs can change gender as well, which allows them to ruin the perfectly engineered all-female environment and breed.  Chaos ensues in the lives of the dinosaurs, especially the two T-Rexes, when T-Rex 2 (Natalie Bradshaw) suddenly finds that “what went in now sticks out.”

The writers Emma Barashi, Bryce Norbitz, Marshall Pailet (who also directed), and Stephen Wargo and designers set up a fun and distinctive world. The dinosaurs, who all live together as a community and worship the laboratory god with the help of the Velociraptor of Faith (John Jeffrey Martin), have a specific verbal and musical language. While the music isn’t quite inventive, there are some engaging rhythmic and lyrical passages, and, as one hopes, lyrics to the famous theme music in the finale.  Kyle Mullins’s creative choreography transforms the actors into the extinct-but-newly-resurrected animals, appropriately using a lot of movement to tell the story. There is even a mime-a-saurus (Brandon Espinoza) to act out some passages. Bronwyn Meehan’s simple costumes—black leotards and either a skirt or shorts—go a long way in suggesting gender.

The world is so well-established, in fact, that when the writers break from this world with winks to the audience, letting them know that they’re watching a silly musical, the piece loses focus. Yes, it’s an entertaining and absurd show, but the concept and story are what is inherently funny, and Jurassic Parq, unfortunately, falls into the trap of going for meta-jokes about the musical theater genre itself. The best laughs come when the writers stick to the story and, if anything, reference the film and book.

As the T-Rexes, Tara Novie (T-Rex 1) and Bradshaw are the stand-outs. Bradshaw especially shines in an affecting duet with Novie about the future of their friendship now that Bradshaw’s T-Rex has developed male genitalia, and she subsequently lets loose in “Dick Fix,” in which she experiences certain urges associated with her new sexual organ. She also plays the drums (switching off with Seymour as Freeman).  Brandon Gill is also appealing as the Baby Velociraptor, and in general the whole cast plays their bestial roles well.

When Jurassic Parq sticks to its inventive story, the hour-and-ten-minute look at the other side of island life is fun and fresh, especially if one is a fan of the book and/or movie (and there are some payoffs for those who are).  When it relies on silly jokes, it begins to fall apart, only to come back to form again when the story resumes.  Luckily, the story prevails, and Jurassic Parq, on the whole, is an intriguing look at the island and story we thought we knew.

Performance Dates: 8/20 at 7pm, 8/21 at 12pm, 8/22 at 6:15pm, 8/25 at 7:45pm, 8/27 at 4pm