Super Claudio Bros., The New Video Game Musical

Posted by Glen Weldon on Jul. 19, 2010 - Washington City Paper

They Say: "This new musical comedy takes our heroes - and an ass kicking princess - on a quest to overcome man-eating plants, spiky killer mushrooms, and a neurotic, love-starved homicidal purple platypus. Features original animation, puppets and eggplants!"

Glen's Take: Look: I expected the po-mo jokes.

I expected there'd be ample electronic sound and music cues to push the audience's collective nostalgia button, and that the dramatis personae would be recognizable, yet tweaked just enough to keep the Nintendo cease-and-desist letters at bay. I even suspected, given the subject, that the 11-o'clock number would likely involve existential, "are our lives just a videogame?" sort of questions. I mean it's a Fringe musical about a pop-culture fixture; there's kind of a formula.

What I didn't expect is that co-authors Marshall Pailet and Drew Fornarola wouldn't be content to simply riff on the Mario Bros. games of their (well: my) youth, but instead interrogate those games to the extent they have here. This is some serious-ass 8-bit dramaturgy, up in here; these guys have meditated on the frickin' text; the fact that the text in question is an NES cartridge instead of, say, Love's Labours Lost is immaterial. The result is clever and ironic, yes, but it's not merely clever and ironic - it's a fully imagined, well-realized piece of work about love, death and stomping on fungi.

"So," I imagine some of you who prefer more meaty and/or difficult Fringe fare sniffing, "it's just nerdy in-jokes, then. Nothing to do with art," (in my imagination, you at this point toss one end of your scarf over your bird-boned shoulder), "or with me." (In my imagination, you then attempt to steer the conversation toward your movement class.)

Three points:

• Very fine, or at least very fun, evenings of theater have been molded from the base clay that is nerdy in-jokes.
• In my imagination, you are kind of a dick.
• Even if you've never exploited the Minus World Glitch yourself, there's something here for you.

Why? Because the script is smart, the songs are strong, but this particular staging is even smarter, and stronger.

Yes, I'm talking about the puppets. Not just Dian M. Perez's creations themselves - though they are great - but how they're used: As the Goomba-esque puppets tromp across the stage toward Steven Gregory Smith's Claudio, their handlers' faces flush with evil intent; once stomped (in admirable sync with Nick Upchurch's sound cues), their handlers slink offstage, dejected, defeated.

That's the only visual joke I'm going to spoil here, but rest assured that Super Claudio Bros. is full of 'em, each one earning from the audience peals of laughter and/or annoying expository whispers, i.e.: "Those'r the rising platforms from the second world!"

It's the casting, though - which reads like the DC musical theater producer's wishlist it likely was - which particularizes a show that constantly threatens to devolve into Big Kampy Komedy Broadness. Sam Ludwig's Luis is all deadpan asides; Smith's Claudio threads the pompous/world-weary needle believably; Lauren Williams undercuts her sudsy Broadway vocal chops with coolly ironic comic timing, and Matthew A. Anderson's evil-platypus-as-New-Jersey-crime-boss keeps events grounded, believe it or not.

If the songs aren't immediately memorable, it may have something to do that many feature rhymes which seem to sit in odd, counterintuitive places in the verse. Ambitious, yes - but lacking the clean, simple, gleeful power Chris Sizemore puts into his stage-ending ditty, "The Princess is Not Here."

Chop-chop, people.

See it if: You get why a character's observation that there are only two choices in life ("A" or "B") earns the laughter of recognition, and not the fruity existential kind.

Skip it if: Your thumbs have lived soft, pampered, uncalloused lives.

'Super Claudio Bros.' sends audience through time warp at Fringe Festival - Washington Post

Fiona Zublin, Washington Post

From the first moment of "Super Claudio Bros.," any audience member who was alive in the mid-'80s is taken back, as if through a warp drive. The earworm theme music accompanies an animation of the Mario . . . um, we mean Claudio Brothers (we suspect there were licensing issues) as they save the Princess Tangerine. And thus ensues an endearing and ridiculous examination of the psyches of the most beloved video game characters of all time, which plays through July 25 at Studio's Mead Theater and then through Aug. 1 at the Warehouse.

The brothers Claudio (Steven Gregory Smith) and Luis (Sam Ludwig) battle an evil spiky platypus named Bruiser (Matthew A. Anderson) to rescue the Princess Tangerine (Gia Mora), protected by magical eggplants. Ludwig and Smith both have great voices, great timing and just the right combination of caricature and humanity. They are joined by Lauren Williams as the neglected Princess Fish, who wants to experience adventure and love and all that latter-day Disney Princess stuff, enough that she dons her own mustache and overalls.

Creators Marshall Pailet and Drew Fornarola have created a surprisingly polished, extraordinarily clever take on the Mario Brothers' world, drawing out every drop of angst the characters could feel -- Claudio's performance anxiety, rivalry between the brothers, even existential questions of whether they have free will or are being controlled by some unseen joystick. The dialogue is often sincere enough that this could masquerade as a children's musical, but it's not: some well-placed blue language and a clever song by the (perhaps not so evil?) platypus place this squarely in the adult category. This was written for those of us who remember the Mario Brothers from childhood, though there's no need to have been a shut-in geek to get all the jokes. Know what "1-Up" means? Do you remember the earworm theme music, which is used wonderfully throughout the score? You're good to go.

Capital Fringe Review: Super Claudio Bros.

DCist - Super Claudio Bros.There's a lot to love about Super Claudio Bros., the charming musical comedy based on the similarly-titled video game series that led to eye problems and thumb callouses for an entire generation. Currently running at the Studio Theatre as part of the on-going Capital Fringe Festival, the play brings the 8-bit world of the 80s to the stage and offers a hearty laugh for all.

Super Claudio Bros., directed by Marshall Pailet, tells the story of Sam Ludwig's Luis, the "Player 2" of this world, who is the perpetual second fiddle to his brother, Claudio (Steven Gregory Smith), a hero in the Land of Eggplants. Claudio achieves his status by repeatedly rescuing the fair Princess Tangerine from the clutches of the evil platypus, Bruiser. The arch-nemesis hatches a scheme to introduce unpredictable foes into Claudio's unchanging adventure, leading to the hero's untimely demise. With the help of the spunky Princess Fish, Luis sets off on his own to take down Bruiser.

There are laughs at every turn in the hilarious script by Drew Fornarola and Pailet. The songs, composed by Fornarola, don't plagiarize Nintendo's famous themes, but do capture their playful essence. However, a great score and script are nothing without a strong cast. Ludwig and Smith know when to play it straight and when to camp it up. Gia Mora's operatic soprano helped create Cinderella's facade that made what lies beneath all the more entertaining. If there was a scene stealer, it was Lauren Williams, playing Princess Fish. A diminutive actor, she nonetheless had the presence and verve to fill the sold-out theater. Oh, and wait until you see the eggplant people.

Those who grew up in an world where game controllers had only two primary buttons will revel in Super Claudio Bros.' nostalgia. But they should still feel free to join children of the wireless age by taking similar delight in the play's irreverent humor and imaginative staging.

"Bright as a pack of Skittles, loopy as a Looney Tunes cartoon, and jam-packed with sibling rivalry, metaphysical angst and a tragically misunderstood, fire-breathing, homicidal purple platypus... a great Fringe show with a solid score, loads of wry humor and a remarkable cast." - DC Theater Scene

CHARLIE FINK PRESENTS: "SUPER CLAUDIO BROS." A SUPER VIDEOGAME MUSICAL FEATURING SOME OF DC'S BEST MUSICAL THEATER TALENT AT 5th ANNUAL CAPITAL FRINGE FESTIVAL

Washington, DC, June 15, 2010 - The New Musical Development Foundation announced today that the musical comedy, "Super Claudio Bros." will have its world premier at the 5th Annual Capital Fringe Festival, which runs July 8-25, 2010.

The young authors of "Super Claudio Bros.," Marshall Pailet and Drew Fornarola, are among the first generation born into a world where digital media like video games is as influential as movies and television. "Video games raised me," says co-author Pailet, a recent Yale graduate from the DC area, who began his career as a child actor here before moving to New York to work on Broadway. "We wanted to explore what happens if the characters in a game developed free will. Would they still storm the castle?"

"Super Claudio Bros." takes your favorite videogame heroes - and an ass-kicking princess - on a quest to overcome man-eating plants, spiky-killer mushrooms, and a neurotic, love-starved homicidal purple platypus, played by Matthew Anderson, in order to free her big sister. The show features original animation from Odd Todd (oddtodd.com), and puppets handcrafted for the show by designer Dina Perez. "The show is appropriate for the whole family, though there are some inappropriate puns, multiple lives lost, and Moon juice abuse is tied to the possible suicide of one player," said Producer Charlie Fink.

The cast includes area performers regularly seen at The Kennedy Center, Arena Stage and Signature, including: Sam Ludwig (currently starring in Signature's Title of Show), Stephen Gregory Smith (Helen Hayes award winner most recently seen in High Fidelity), Lauren Williams (Little Red in Signature's Into the Woods), Matthew Anderson, Gia Mora, Harry Winter, Chris Sizemore, Karissa Swanigan and Gillian Shelley (Shear Madness). Super Claudio Bros. is the 4th new musical produced by New Musical Foundation co-founder Charlie Fink in the past three years.

The musical will have five performances at Studio Theatre beginning Saturday, July 10, through Sunday July 25, 2010. In addition to its run as part of the Capital Fringe Festival, the musical will have an extended run at Warehouse Theater from July 29-August 1, 2010. Dates and venues for all performances as well as bios for the creative team can be found below or at www.SuperClaudioBros.com. For tickets go to www.capfringe.org.

Media wishing to attend a special preview or to interview production or cast members contact PR Manager Jody Arlington, jodyarlington@mac.com, or Jon Gann, Marketing Manager at jon@reelplan.com.

with co-authors Drew Fornarola and Marshall Pailet

Tell us a little about your background. You guys are young. Very young. Video Game generation young. How long have you been out of school? How many shows have you written?

Drew: Well, he's younger than I am! But yes, we're both pretty young. Still, we've each been writing a long time, and have a fair amount of material behind us. I graduated from Princeton in 2006, and have been working at about the rate of one full length project per year since my senior year of college. I think it's important that writers always keep writing, especially through the periods when another project is in what we affectionately refer to as "development hell." Some of my other things include COLLEGE The Musical (NYMF 2008, pub Dramatic Publishing Company); Thucydides (A short play, pub Samuel French); Uncle Pirate (a children's musical, pub Samuel French); and Vote for Me: A Musical Debate (commissioned by Robyn Goodman).

Marshall: I like to say between Drew and me, we have 5 decades of combined life experience, but that won't be true for another couple of years. My other writing projects include On a Glorious Day (Actors Cabaret of Eugene '09); Where It's At (FringeNYC '05), and Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical (FringeNYC '10). I also direct quite a bit. Between working on shows as a writer and as a director, I stay pretty busy. I've been very lucky that way.

How did you two guys meet? How long have you been writing together?

Drew: When Marshall was a senior in high school he did one of his shows up at Princeton. And as a student writing new musicals there, I naturally went to see it, and liked it a lot. We kept in touch but didn't write anything until winter 2008 when an opportunity came along to write a 10 minute musical for Prospect Theater Company. We decided to try to collaborate on it even though Marshall was still at Yale. We wrote it more or less over the phone, but it went really well.

Marshall: You might say it was legendary.

Drew: You might. Anyway, it went really well and we decided to look for a full length project to work on together. So. here we are!

Tell us about your writing process. Who writes the songs?

Marshall: Well, every collaboration is different and every show within every collaboration is different. Drew is an amazing composer, but for this show, I mainly wrote music and Drew wrote lyrics. We wrote the book together. We have a pretty awesome chemistry - I edit his words, he edits my music. We trust each other, so there's hardly ever tension in our relationship. Except for when he sucks.

Drew: Shut up, you.

Where did the idea for Super Claudio Bros. come from?

Drew: Gosh, the notion of doing a "videogame musical" like this has really been on my mind for several years now. The whole world: it's specific rules, the high stakes, people dying constantly, monsters, superheroes, princesses. it all just seemed very naturally theatrical to me, but I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to get collaborators onboard with such a crazy idea. Then, last winter I had breakfast with Charlie Fink, and he asked me to pitch him some ideas. He really liked "Claudio," and decided he wanted to help develop it. It was one of the luckiest days of my career so far. Another one came shortly thereafter when I asked Marshall if he wanted to collaborate on it. He really fell in love with the project, and in his hands it grew from a vague idea about a quest to save the princess into a really complete piece of theater.

What's your favorite video game of all time? What games are you playing now?

Marshall: Drew and I both grew up on the original NES. My first video game was the Super Mario Bros. combo pack with Duck Hunt and World Class Track Meet. Actually, my dad bought the system as a present to himself, but quickly became frustrated when his four year old (me) started kicking his ass. I've been a loyal Nintendo guy ever since - every system up to the Wii. My favorite was Donkey Kong Country for Super Nintendo. I loved Donkey and Diddy Kong so much, and when I failed a level and they died. it was really my first experience with loss. Hee hee.

Successful video games are so much more than entertaining. They're dramatic. It's the job of the programmer to humanize their characters, regardless of what species they might be. Likewise, if we can succeed in humanizing Super Claudio and Luis, then I think we, as programmers for the stage, have done our jobs.

Drew: You're so pretentious.

Marshall: Shut up, you.