GEEK! By Crystal Skillman (Socratic Theatre Collective). At Randolph Theatre. July 9 at 4:15 pm, July 10 at 12:45 pm, July 12 at 7 pm, July 14 at 11 pm, July 15 at 3:30 pm. See listing. Rating: NN
This show about manga and cosplay can be so niche that if youve never dipped your toes in that world, you could feel lost. While Geek! never gets so inside-baseball that I couldnt keep up with LARPing references, too many characters clog the stage, which hurt both the shows pacing and character development.
When Danya (Jules Lee) and Honey (Cait MacMullin) take a trip to a convention to meet one of their heroes, the creator of manga series Dantes Fire, they soon face obstacles that mirror the challenges a warrior faces in any comic book quest.
We learn about Danyas motivation and a smattering on Honeys backstory, but the other players at the convention from Star-Trek-obsessed security guards to villains wearing catsuits detract from moments that could be spent building more context of Danyas relationship to Honey, and how Danya was bullied at school.
But if you live in the geeky world the show inhabits, you might be too enthralled by the inventive costumes and sword duels to worry about anything else.
