Fresh from a rapturously received Sydney season, MARVELous The Show showcases well known and loved superheroes including Thor, Black Widow, Deadpool, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Iron Man and more as they’ve never been seen before, in outrageous and unexpected subversions of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel fans will enjoy seeing their favourite characters and superheroes comedically parodied on stage with a risqué edge. A show created by superfans for superfans, co-creator, director and performer Samwise Holmes says there were three main reasons for creating the show.
“One is that we have a particular love for the characters
Two is from a business perspective – the Marvel cinematic universe has such wide public awareness across a broader range of stories and characters to play off.
Three is a flamboyancy that Marvel characters have that really lend themselves to these kind of outrages parodies.”
A journey over five years in the making, Holmes says he didn’t set out to create a show to begin with.
“It started with a silly comedy song called The Man with America’s Ass that I wrote one day after Endgame came out with its “that’s America’s ass” gag about Captain America. It was a parody of ‘The Star Spangled Man With a Plan’ song that Captain America and the Showgirls perform in his first movie. What started as “this would be funny to do a live performance of” quickly turned into a show when I started having ideas for other scenes. I remember the second scene concept was our Magic Mike x Iron Man crossover, where a female Tony Stark/Iron Man built suits in their workshop whilst dancing to Pony like Magic Mike in his workshop. The ideas became wilder and wilder from there, and a show started to take form!”
The show also features fun non-Marvel pop-culture references that span some decades. Holmes explains that ultimately the show was built by cycling through the most recognizable moments across the span of the Marvel film universe and creating wild extravagant concepts for how we could twist it.
“The final decisions came down to which ideas of ours had the most layers to it – if we’re going to put something on stage, it has to be nuanced, interesting, and ideally something people haven’t seen before.
Many scenes take a specific moment from the MCU to parody, and others take a character itself and twist their story, such as Doctor Strange the overconfident stage magician, a role that also parodies the Greatest Showman, who’s illusions fail spectacularly every time, played by one of our featured vocalists.
Or our Black Widow scene that turns from a ballet into a stunt fight scene, underscored by an unexpectedly epic music crossover between cinematic action and classical music, as the ballet continues in conjunction with the fight on stage as well. But throw in another layer; we subvert the idea of a striptease by having our badass lead character tear off pieces of her outfit to use as weapons against the assailants.”
A marvel fan since childhood, Holmes recalls taking photos of himself in a Spiderman costume at age 9 perched at the top of the families two- storey roof.
“I got into acrobatics recreationally because I wanted to be like Spider-Man, which is what led to me eventually training as a professional stunt performer as well. So, this genre has always felt like a part of my DNA.
Since we were teenagers, Cynthia (co-producer and fiancé) and I followed the MCU films and TV shows religiously – we had such a love for the web that was being weaved. Marvel, and Theatre, were two of our biggest influences and passions, so combining the two was a no-brainer in the end. It feels like the culmination of so much of our lives so far.”
The production is not affiliated with Disney or Marvel Entertainment and so it is a gutsy presentation by a small production company committed to putting on an ambitiously large show, Holmes admits it has been a massive challenge.
“We have a fantastic team, who really went above and beyond to build this huge show. The final weeks leading up to Sydney were insane – long nights, building all of the final sets, altering costumes, and getting a huge technical show on its feet for the first time.”
The show was rewarded by how well it was received on Opening Night. “You put so much blood, sweat, and tears into a production like this, and you’re at the whim of the critics and the audience to know if it’s all been worth it,” says Holmes. “Relief washes over you when you hear the laughs and cheers during the show, and to read at the end of the night that people genuinely loved the show – there’s no other feeling like it.”
Holmes digs deep by wearing three creative hats but says when it comes to directing and performing, the top priority has to be the creative vision of the show, so director comes first.
“We cast an alternate for the Deadpool role who came in for the final week of rehearsals and the first week of shows, so that I could prioritise ensuring that the show was as it good as it could be.
Once I could take the Director hat off, only then could I consider stepping onto the stage – we have such high standards for our performers in this show, that unless I could put my full focus into that element of the production, then it just wouldn’t be right for me to join the cast.”
Holmes describes Deadpool as a sort of narrator of the show, guiding the audience through their inappropriate bedtime story. For Holmes, the ability to interact and have fun with the audience is a thrill every show, and by being generally separate from the main scenes of the show, he also gets the pleasure of experiencing the phenomenal cast perform the pieces he’s created, and witness the audience responding to them, without the pressure of performing it!
As for what Holmes would like audiences to take away from the show, “We’d like audience to take away lots of merch! (Actually, that’s a lie we don’t even have merch yet). The comments I enjoy hearing is that the show was completely not what the audience expected, which was absolutely the goal was to put on something unique – but this is a double-edged sword, because we also need people to know how spectacular the show is going to be in advance as well, so that they actually come and see it!”
The company is currently taking the show around the country – the next location will be in Adelaide in February/March, and ultimately, they hope to take the show overseas as well.
With a rock-infused soundtrack, a breathtaking stage design, and a cast of exceptional acrobats, vocalists, dancers and high-flying aerialists, MARVELous The Show is a dynamic blend of parody, hilarity and impressive live performances – all delivered with a satiric and risqué edge.
Says Homes, “Our audience leave saying that the show blew them away, and it was so much more than what they expected – so do yourselves a favour and come find out what you’re missing!”
November 6 – 10
Images Ben Dingley
