Solo Must Die: A Musical Parody 

Reviewed by Lara J. Altunian 
Stidley Theatricals 
Through May 27 

Solo Must Die! — Ari and Jordan Stidham’s musical Star Wars parody — is a goofy mashup of faux Broadway show tunes, pop culture references and quirky setups. The show creates some laugh-out loud moments that don’t quite compensate for the many scenes that try hard to be funny but aren’t. Though meant to be campy, many of the gags are repetitive. The overextended plot is weighed down with dream sequences and complications that add little comic value and serve only to make the piece lengthier.

The play is presented as fan fiction written by Star Wars devotee Hugh (John Ryan). Hugh has asked his friend Colm (Jordan R. Coleman) to read his script, which audience members watch come to life through song and dance.

The story begins with Han (Jordan Stidham) crashing his Millennium Falcon on Cloud City, which is run by his friend, the outlaw-turned-politician Lando Calrissian (Keenan Montgomery). Grand Moff Levine (Ari Stidham), the story’s villain-in-denial, wants to kill Solo in order to impress Darth Vader (briefly played by Sean Draper) and take over Lando’s position. Meanwhile, Lando is in love with Levine’s daughter Annie (Kaitlyn Tanimoto) who is engaged to Droidberg, Jr. (Hughie Stone Fish). He asks Solo for help in wooing her. However, Han is unaccustomed to taking on responsibility and is torn between assisting his friend and returning to his former life as a smuggler and thief.

Subplots, such as Levine’s wife Galaxia (Selorm Kploanyi) falling for Solo (who happens to be her ex) and Annie searching for meaning to her life outside of fueling a political marriage, help flesh out the supporting characters and lend the parody a bit of depth. Additional characters, seen in flashbacks and hallucinations, are good for one-shot laughs, but their recurrence serves little purpose.

That said, one of the best scenes is the arrival of Kylo Ren (Alex Lewis) and BB8 (Michelle Wicklas) from the future. While extraneous to the plot, their inclusion adds substance to the conversation about the future of the franchise in a witty way. And it’s a dialogue fans are likely to have amongst themselves. The scene is enhanced by the musical number “Am I a Toy?” (written by Fish, who wrote nine of the show’s songs) which reflects on the existential crisis of these characters, who wonder about their significance within the Star Wars’ canon. The rest of the music is also entertaining.

The cast is clearly talented and their singing complements Tevyn Cole’s awkwardly performed choreography (this is deliberate), which consists of jazzy shoulder shimmies and swishy box steps. Like the jokes, however, these moves eventually invoke the feeling of listening to a broken record.

Overall, diehard Star Wars enthusiasts are likely to enjoy the running gags and nerdy humor.  For those less devoted, the novelty may fade before the musical reaches its predictable ending.

Hudson Backstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through May 27. (323) 960-7788(323) 960-7788(323) 960-7788960-7788 or https://www.plays411.com/newsite/show/play_info.asp?show_id=4774. Running time: 80 minutes with one 10-minute intermission.