Live Arts Fest-Philly Fringe Review: “Awesome Alliteration”

Here in Philly, public education may just be the least humorous topic right about now. But that’s sort of what makes BetaMale Productions new Fringe hit, Awesome Alliteration: The Magical Musical so awesome.

The two-act musical takes place at Media Res County High School, where the new mayor-superintendent Melvin Miller (Will Harrell) has decided to ban all literary devices—idioms, analogies, hyperboles, alliterations and so on—after his girlfriend chokes to death on her own words. Flash-forward a few years: Naive recent college grad Gary Soos (Pat Shane) lands a job as an English teacher at the school, only to quickly learn that his Teach For America training may not have prepared him.

Despite the occasional jab at the public school system, at no point does this play really take itself seriously. (There’s a cubby guy in an helicopter hat, for goodness sakes!) The non-stop infectious song and dance numbers are riddled with joke after joke, pun after pun. Meanwhile, the characters prove to be a lovable bunch of weirdos and misfits, almost in a Breakfast Club kind of way.

Should you go to see the show, be sure to arrive early. Not only is The SkyBox at the Adrienne super small, but you’ll probably also want time to grab a beer and some baked goods. That’s right, there’s a bake sale. Oh, and keep an eye out for the janitor (played by the hilarious Michael Sheldon).

He might start cleaning your chair when you least expect it.

Various times. Through Sept. 30. $20. Adrienne The SkyBox, 2030 Sansom St. 215.413.1318. livearts-fringe.org