MAY 9, 2023 - Hidden away in the Greenwich Village area of Lower Manhattan is an off-Broadway theater called The Players Theatre. Nestled between Olive Tree Café and Café Wha?, where musical greats like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen got their start, the theater is currently showing a brand-new show entitled Khan!!! The Musical!

The show opened last week on what is traditionally known by some as Star Wars Day, May the Fourth. But creating a parody of a beloved Star Trek film can be a tricky proposition. Go too far, and you risk alienating the fans. Don’t go far enough and you might as well just screen the movie. So how do Peekskill Productions’ cast and creatives handle this delicate balancing act? Will Trek fans enjoy the show, or should they attend armed with rotten vegetables? I went to the show so you don’t have to…but you might want to, anyway.

The show’s story casts theatergoers as a holographic audience, à la the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Outrageous Okona.” But this time, instead of a stand-up comedy, Lieutenant Commander Data is trying his hand at musical comedy. Taking a historical event from a hundred years prior, the legendary battle between Kirk’s USS Enterprise and the USS Reliant as commandeered by Khan Noonien Singh, Data’s creation is a hilariously toe-tapping romp.

When I interviewed the show’s writer, director, and some of the cast, it very quickly became obvious that they were all Star Trek fans. That love is evident from the very first moment. The script, written by Brent Black, displays a deep knowledge of Trek lore and plays like a 2-hour-long Saturday Night Live skit. Black’s songs effectively help to move the story along, while displaying a deep knowledge and love of musical theater, with one song cleverly parodying Chicago’s “We Both Reached For the Gun” and a moment in another meant to evoke the characters Valjean and Javert in Les Miserables, to name two of the more obvious examples.

Laura Whittenberger’s fresh-faced portrayal of Lieutenant Saavik is full of life and particularly lights up the early scenes. For the film, the character was conceived as half-Vulcan, half-Romulan, and while that aspect of her heritage was never addressed onscreen, Black’s script freely makes use of the dueling genetics. Whittenberger’s Saavik is constantly at war with herself, desperately trying to remain stoic while just as desperately craving her mentor Captain Spock’s approval.

Shyaporn Theerakulstit’s Admiral Kirk is facing a battle on a different front, or rather two. As in the movie, the aging Kirk is worried that he’s becoming obsolete until an encounter with Khan and the Genesis weapon prove he’s still got what it takes to win the day. Theerakulstit’s impersonation of Shatner’s Kirk is spot-on, just over-the-top enough to push it over the edge from impersonation to caricature. Shatner’s movie Kirk is a bit different from his TV Kirk, and the earlier one seems to be the Kirk Theerakulstit is mimicking here, but that’s a nit I have no desire to pick.

Kirk’s other battle is with Khan, played with camp iniquity by Zachary Kropp. Kropp is not doing a Ricardo Montalban impersonation, and while his Khan is a little more playful than Montalban’s, with a love of the board game Battleship! that pays off in a big way near the end of the show, his desire to get revenge on Kirk is just as strong.

Clayton Matthews takes on the dual role of Sulu and Chekov. It’s difficult to imagine two more different characters, yet Matthews pulls it off with aplomb, donning a shaggy wig when in the Chekov role. Truthfully, even without the wig, one would be left in no doubt as to which character he was portraying, employing a deep intonation as Sulu and a suitably bad Russian accent as Chekov.

Crystal Marie Stewart plays equally different characters, Lieutenant Uhura and Doctor Carol Marcus. With no outrageous accents to rely on, the main difference between the two characters is a blonde wig and Stewart’s change in attitude, effectively managed as only someone who knows both characters well from years of watching them on the screen can do.

Lindsay M.E. Newton plays the curmudgeonly Doctor “Bones” McCoy and, donning a fake mustache, Chief Engineer Scott. Her performance captures the flavor of each of the characters handily with an obvious sense of humor while also handling the sparse serious moments (as with McCoy contemplating the dangers of the Genesis device.)

There isn’t a single weak link in the cast, yet the standout performance has to be from Julian Manjerico as Data. As the android who created the holo-program, he delivers his lines in a typically robotic fashion, capturing the flavor of Brent Spiner’s performance. But, just as Spiner was called upon to play a number of different characters throughout TNG’s seven-year run, Manjerico must play several fill-in characters, from Scotty’s Tiny Tim-esque nephew Peter Preston to Khan’s bowling team-obsessed right-hand man Joachim to Kirk’s son David. (Manjerico’s impersonation of Theerakulstit’s impersonation of Shatner’s Kirk is pretty incredible.) Manjerico’s range seems to be unlimited as he takes on each role, once or twice fooling me into thinking there was an extra cast member I’d missed in the program.

Ivey Jenkins Long’s scenic design is simple and almost looks homemade, with a cardboard cut-out Genesis device and what appear to be tall desks on casters, dressed to look like Enterprise bridge consoles. The simplicity isn’t a bad thing and manages to evoke a “come on, kids, let’s put on a show in the barn” feel that speaks to Data’s limited experience with producing a theatrical piece. Jolene Marie’s costumes are reminiscent of the TWOK ones, but just different enough that Paramount won’t sue the production. Melissa Shawcross’ lighting design is more colorful than the film’s palette and is more akin to the Original Series’ brightly-colored lighting which was intended to tempt fans to purchase a new color television to replace their outdated black and white one.

So, should you go see this show? Well, it depends on who you are. For a Star Trek fan, it’s a must-see, gag-rich musical with lots to see and enjoy. I’m not so sure someone unfamiliar with the franchise would get as much of a kick out of it, although they would enjoy the spectacle, and those with a knowledge of musical theater would certainly get something out of the many references peppered throughout. The cast is phenomenal, the songs are snappy, and the script is both hilarious and respectful of the source material. At one point, it will even bring a tear to your eye. (You know which moment I’m talking about.) John Lampe’s direction ties it all together with a skilled eye and a loving touch.

Khan!!! The Musical! is playing now at The Player’s Theatre and closes on June 4. You can purchase tickets here, and if you’re in New York City any time between now and then, you really should. But leave your rotten veggies at home.