As soon as I heard the title of the latest world premiere from Hell in a Handbag Productions for their spring stage production, “Poor People! The Parody Musical,” I was hooked.
David Cerda is forever hailed as the clever king of stage camp and is a 1979 graduate of Hammond High School. Always encouraging young talent, even at the good-natured risk of competitors for his campy crown, Cerda is guiding the ranks and potential of his ensemble members and assuring the future of his Hell in a Handbag Productions, which he founded more than two decades ago.
“Poor People!” is the sharp as barbed wire fresh tale of poverty woes as filtered through the formula of musical stage comedy as written by Hell in a Handbag ensemble member Tyler Anthony Smith. It continues until June 16 at The Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. in downtown Chicago.
During his curtain speech at last weekend’s “Poor People!” opening, Cerda humorously reminded audiences his Hell in a Handbag Productions “is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, and with anything in the arts, a business model created to fail.” He never minces his words or opinions and has learned plenty during his path as a playwright the past quarter of a century.
Cerda returns to his hometown airwaves to join me on my weekly radio show at 11 a.m. May 23 on WJOB 1230 AM to discuss this latest lampoon and his role, playing Fagin, the salty proprietor of a flophouse in 1815 Paris. Cerda also serves as executive producer teamed with Stephanie Shaw as director, choreographer Christopher Kelley and music director Andrew Milliken.
“Poor People!” is the spring highlight of the 22nd season for Cerda’s company, and the 2-hour, 30-minute one-intermission musical is (as intended) the over-the-top, self-aware, silly, fun homage to the many impoverished characters showcased in the past century in musical theater with twisted tribute songs and nods to their frayed threads of storylines all woven into a composite sort of “Alice in Not-So-Wonderful Land.”
For this telling, the opening number is set in 1979 New York City, and rather than Alice transported to an upside-down world of crazed characters, it’s the wide-eyed and likable Li’l Orphan Arnie played by Dakota Hughes, joined by a puppet cat. Both escape the orphanage confines and mean Miss A, as played with extra pepper by favorite Sydney Smith, via a magical storm sewer tunnel to be transported to 1815 Paris.
First encounters are very funny street scenes populated by more Cerda ensemble members, Caitlin Jackson and Elizabeth Lesinski joined by the dual duty playwright Tyler Anthony Smith, each in their guises as panhandlers and panderers. Arnie’s puppet feline is also transformed into a fosse dancing human feline played by Matty Bettencourt.
Causing trouble for all are Brittney Brown as a corrupt politician from the future dubbed Mama Moneybags and Shane Roberie as the caped and masked spoof of the Phantom of the Opera, sharing the stage with Taylor Dalton, Patrick O’Keefe and Tommy Thurston in varied character roles.
Send-ups of the classic Broadway song hits from “Annie,” “Chicago,” “Les Mis,” “Cats,” “Phantom” and “Oliver!” move the storyline along. Fewer songs and fewer characters would help keep the production leaner and meaner in a lighter running time for fewer subplots to address while assuring hold of audience focus.
Like nearly all of the razor wit Cerda scripts and the tradition of Hell in a Handbag Productions, “Poor People!” contains graphic language and adult humor not intended for the faint of heart, but could be prime for audiences “poor in spirit,” unfazed by jabs at religion.
“When I was in the fourth grade, I was supposed to be in the ensemble of our district’s high school production of ‘Oliver!’ and I got sick, missed too many rehearsals, and was forced to exit the show,” said Smith, the playwright.
“So not only is this Handbag’s response to Apple TV’s ‘Schmigadoon!,’ it’s also my revenge.”
Tickets are $42 at handbagproductions.org.
Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org.