Tough environmental topics get sweet treatment in ‘Buzzed!’

July 23, 2024

Take honeybees on the brink of extinction, a pair of earnest university science apiology students in danger, a power-mad Cold War major, his insanely jealous subordinate and Sasquatch. Top the 1950s retro sci-fi/horror with a climate change message. Set it to a pop-rock/R&B/country/Broadway soundtrack and campy choreography.

And honey, you’ve got Buzzed! From July 24 to July 27 only, the hive is in the basement space of Theatre Three in Dallas’s Quadrangle in Oak Lawn.

As the creator and queen bee, Dallas-based CJ Critt said, “If Little Shop of Horrors and Rocky Horror Picture Show had a baby bee, it would be Buzzed!, an original, over-the-top, creature-feature musical satire.”

“A story of science, hi-tech bug weaponization and young love run amok, it’s set in the late 50s, just a stone’s throw past World War II. Back then, the military came up with these crazy schemes to have an edge, like weaponizing bugs to drop balls of plague on the Japanese. While Buzzed! is over-the-top comedy, it’s not that far-fetched,” said Critt.

Eight players from the top ranks of North Texas acting and comedic talent play 15 witty roles. Guided by director and funny man Kim Titus, the proceedings are woven with 16 original tunes from four professional composers performed by a live band and enlivened by wildly imaginative low-budget, laugh-out-loud props.

“A decade ago,” said Critt, “I became aware of the growing climate crisis and the declining bee population — sort of the canary in the coal mine of eco-alarms. As a lifelong creative and a treehugger from Oregon, I felt an urgency to address this crisis with my skills. But how to do it in a way that does not lecture, scold or depress audiences?”

The goal, explained Critt, was to “create a show that presents a diverse cast and entertains wildly, while slyly educating the audience into looking at Mother Nature and all her bees in a positive way as the heroes triumph and the villains meet their hilarious comeuppance.”

The college student heroes, Chloe Edgecombe and Austin Zuckerman, are played by Janina Jaraczewski (Critt:” She sings like a dream”) and Karl Martin. Leading the villains is improv and sketch comedy legend Mark Fickert as Major Brinks, a misguided patriot, according to Britt.

“Tommy Lee Jones meets Peter Sellers,” said said.

“We laughed so hard in Mark’s audition,” said Critt. “He and Joshua Sherman [playing Hayden Edwards, the major’s flunkie] hadn’t studied the lines for more than a couple of minutes. Yet we just didn’t want them to stop. They were so funny and so inventive. The show brings out a playful quality in these comic actors.”

“Musical theater is a form of collective joy that feeds my soul and keeps audiences entertained and tapping their toes while absorbing a message or story,” continued Critt, an award-winning performer, playwright and former staff writer for national entities including Disney.

Do you bee-lieve the mad Major Brinks will build his bee wall along the Canadian border to thwart invading Russkies? Will the college students’ procreation pheromone, Bee-agra, save the buzzy beings from going extinct? Will the cannabis-sparked bee-in get busted? Does a libidinous Sasquatch find love?

Make a beeline to Buzzed! and find out.

Parental warning: Buzzed! has some adult themes and language. Suggested for audiences 14 and up.

Buzzed!

When: July 24 to 26 at 8 p.m., July 27 at 2 pm. July 24 is a special Dallas Sierra Club night, a Buzzed! sponsor, with a buzz-back afterward with some of the cast.

Where: Theatre Three – Downstairs in Theatre Too! , 2688 Laclede St. #120 (The Quadrangle in Uptown), Dallas, TX 75211

Rating: For audiences 14 and up.

Tickets: Reserve your tickets. Walk-ins accepted if seating available.

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