Last Sunday, I caught the closing performance of the Princeton University Player’s The Mushening, an original comedy musical written by Ed Horan and Nate Perlmeter and directed by Asher Muldoon. It was half YA fiction parody and half college satire, and all incredibly enjoyable! The jokes had a wonderful specificity – I never saw the end of a line coming, and it made for irresistible humor. The protagonists, university students about to undergo the mysterious Mushening ceremony, deliver these quips with stunning voices and great timing. The music was equally impressive – with a score that explored and parodied many genres, each line was set so that the jokes were all very audible and crisp, even when competing with audience laughter. It was wonderful to see the amount of heart and excitement put into the musical from the ensemble – from sharing quips with audience members to terrorizing the protagonists in cowboy outfits to relishing the fear-inspiring anonymity of a full black bodysuit, it was easy to tell everyone was having tons of instantly contagious fun. My favorite part was a big Act II number in which the ensemble enthusiastically bemoans the tragic death of a hot protagonist, calling on names of deceased handsome men of yore to uproarious laughter. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, and look forward to watching more shows this year!
-Elliot Lee