Hilarious! Underscore Theatre Company Presents Tonya and Nancy: The Rock Opera at Theatre Wit (November 29, 2016)

This production should be called Harding and Kerrigan: The Rock Musical Comedy. Their first names don’t immediately make clear what the show is about, but no one will be confused when they see their last names. They will instantly remember the attack on Nancy Kerrigan on January 6, 1994 coordinated by Tonya Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly. It is this event and the 1994 Olympics in that February that is the center of this exciting story. Also, the mood of this play is more funny than dramatic, thus the change to Musical Comedy from Opera. With this change, the audience will be in the right mindset to enjoy this well produced show.

Tonya’s mother is hilarious in this production. Veronica Garza plays her perfectly as a trailer park mom. Then, to great comedic effect, the audience discovers she is also playing Nancy’s mom. She is completely supportive and the total opposite of Tonya’s mother. This leads to a fantastically funny scene in which they run into each other just off stage and argue with each other. Garza also has a solo in which she switches back and forth between the two characters multiple times in the middle of the song!

Justin Adair plays the weird and bizarre Jeff Gillooly excellently. Early on he tells Tonya that he was interested in her since she was 15. It makes him so creepy. When he comes out for his solo, the guitar player starts playing on an acoustic. Gillooly grabs the guitar from him and says “I’m going to play my own song!” It is funny moments like this that are the highlight of the show.

Get tickets now through December 30^th!

Quinn Delaney