SAVING THE DAY // A THEATRE REVIEW OF "CLAUDIO QUEST"

BY MATEO MORENO

Anyone who grew up with 8 bit video games and an appreciation for ridiculous comedy (and puppets) will love CLAUDIO QUEST, a new musical by Drew Fornarola and Marshall Pailet playing at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, also known as NYMF. At NYMF, shows typically feel like a work in progress. The festival uses their resources to nurture these shows and put them in front of an audience, seeing what works and what doesn't. However, if Claudio Quest opened Off-Broadway tomorrow, I feel it would be ready.

Opening the show we see a young girl playing a1990's  Nintendo like system. She's playing "Claudio Quest" and soon it all comes to life in front of us. Heading up the cast is CJ Eldred as Claudio, the Mario like hero of the show. He has once again rescured Princess Poinsettia (Lesley McKinnell) from the evil Bowser... I mean Bruiser (Andrew Ward), with the help of his "second player" brother Luis (Ethan Slater, taking on the Luigi role). When Bruiser once again kidnaps the Princess, it's up to the brothers, but mostly Claudio, to save the day once again. But as Claudio starts to question himself, and the repetativeness of his world, things start to change and play out differently.

The Princess has a sister here, in the form of Princess Fish (Lindsey Brett Carothers). She would much rather had an adventurous life so she sneaks out of the castle and tries to join Claudio and Luis on their quest of jumping on turtles (yup, there's here, in puppet form), hitting bricks for coins, smashing cute little mushrooms (again, in puppet form) and hopefully saving the day. Avenue Q's John Tartaglia expertly directs the fantastic cast to stellar results. Everyone is great here, and the swift, fast, and hilarious direction from Tartaglia supports them 100%. The score and book by Fornarola and Pailet is catchy, clever, and songs like "Claudio Saved the Day," "The Platypus Song" and "Jump On" will stay in your head long after the show's over. Everyone has their moment to shine here. CJ Eldred is great as Claudio, funny and very strong on voice.  Ethan Slater is fantastic as the second player and Lindsey Brett Carothers is odd, endearing, and wonderful as Princess Fish. But let's not forget the captured Princess Poinsettia. Played by Lesley McKinnell, she steals EVERY moment she's in with her expert comic timing. She had me in tears almost every time she opened her mouth. And Bruiser, played by Rock of Ages's Andre Ward, showcases physical comedy at it's finest, while harnessing a brutally killer voice. Last but not least, the entire ensemble are each spectacular.

Perhaps it sounds like I'm raving here. That's because I am. Claudio Quest has officially played it's final performance at NYMF, but don't you dare think this is the last you'll see of it. Let's hope this amazing cast follows it right uptown where a long and healthy extra life awaits it.

MATEO'S GRADE: A

Book, Music, and Lyrics by: Drew Fornarola & Marshall Pailet. Directed by: John Tartaglia Starring: CL Eldrid, Ethan Slater, Andre Ward, Lesley McKinnell, Lindsey Brett Carothers, Max Chernin, Alex Goley, Abby Hart, Katie Lee Hill, Andre Jordan, Tiffany Mann. For Tickets: Currantly all performances are past. More info can be found at: http://www.nymf.org/festival/2015-events/claudio-quest

MATEO MORENO recently won a bet on who could hold their breath the longest underwater. He won the bet, having beat local loudmouth Jimmy "Thunderbird" Thomas with a record breaking "fourteen minutes." True, part of that time was him unconscious and the other part was him being revived, but he still counts it, and is now $20 richer. Take THAT Thunderbird! He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.