Musical Review: The Toxic Avenger 5.8/10

Toxic waste & the New Jersey river.  A reject nerd, Melvyn, turns into a 'green' superhero after getting dumped into toxic waste (yes to the double-entendre).  Bubbly, blind blonde falls in love with him only to reject him when she finds out his true identity.  One of my favourite lines in the show is as mom tries to get bubbly to accept Melvyn:  "But if blind people don't love ugly people, then noone will." My favourite scene involved one woman playing two strong, interesting characters:  the mayor and Melvyn's mother.  The escalation comes when they're about to butt heads...but then you know they're the same character.  Help!  Then the characters meet.  Can you imagine the wack-o schizophrenic scene that results?  Well, it was GREAT.  The scene was well choreographed, executed perfectly, and was a joy to watch. Despite funny moments throughout, a very strong scene, a few other strong scenes, outstanding singing (9/10), lively choreography (8/10) and strong performances (8.5/10) all around, I gave this a thumbs-down overall:  5.8/10.  Why?  It's not the too-simple story which was a 6/10. It was the bland music (4/10).  Boring melodies laid on top of major chord to major chord and again to major chords.  Song after song.  Melodies were simple, uninteresting and went nowhere.  And song variety felt missing.  I listened for the occasional minor chord and soaring melody, but alas, they were limited.  If almost entirely major-chorded music doesn't bother you (~95% of it was major), then maybe this musical is for you.  Otherwise, along with the Sound of Music musical, I recommend a pass. http://www.toxicavengertoronto.com/ I saw this on Tuesday night (November 17, 2009) at The Music Hall (147 Danforth Ave east of Broadview).

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