There are laughs aplenty in the Fringey new musical Bigfoot! — which is perhaps not surprising since the book and score are by veteran comedy writer Amber Ruffin (with an assist from David Schmoll on the music and Kevin Sciretta on the book). Ruffin has made a name for herself on Late Show With Seth Meyers as well as CNN’s comedy news show Have I Got News for You and she packs her show with satirical punchlines that consistently hit the mark. When one character tries to dismiss Bigfoot’s existence, he compares him to other unproven fictions “like the Loch Ness Monster or ethical non-monogamy.”
Grey Henson, who sleighed as Buddy in Broadway’s 2024 Elf revival, brings a similar guileless sweetness to the title character — who’s been relegated to the woods outside a backwater burg called Muddirt that’s stuck between a chemical factory and a nuclear power plant. It’s a place whose water, we learn, is “more toxic than people who peaked in high school.” (It’s a bit of mystery why the locals haven’t spawned a whole school system full of Bigfoot-like genetic aberrations.)
Bigfoot has mostly raised himself, though his watchful but seriously ailing mama (Crystal Lucas-Perry) and her physician buddy (Jason Tam) check up on him occasionally. Unfortunately, he’s become a scapegoat for the town’s many problems, especially for the perpetually sloshed and crooked mayor (Alex Moffat) as he cooks up an improbable deal with a billionaire baddie (Jade Jones) to bring a giant water park to town. That project — and the need to boost Muddirt’s rep as a safe tourist destination — leads to the hiring of a hunter (Katerina McCrimmon) to rid the community of its Bigfoot problem for good. Then, she actually meets him and they become almost instant allies (very much in the LGBTQ sense).
While Bigfoot! seems to borrow from other musicals featuring misunderstood outsiders and political subtexts — Bat Boy, Toxic Avenger, and Urinetown all spring to mind as influences — the story here seems almost an afterthought. There’s a Saturday-morning cartoon quality to the plot and most of the characters, especially under the broad, subtlety-free direction of Danny Melford (who also handles the simple choreography). Some of the references, while consistently amusing, have a throwback quality. When Tam’s physician slaps Bigfoot’s passed-out mom to rouse her, she jolts upright and responds, “Are you a doctor or Ike Turner?” (Perhaps Ruffin didn’t want to offend more recent slap-happy celebrities such as Will Smith.) At another point, the doc compares the potential dangers of the oversize Bigfoot to “a drunk moose or a Kennedy brother.”
The story’s shortcomings might matter less if the score were more memorable. After an infectious opening number welcoming us to the town of Muddirt, the songs fall into a generic, vaguely poppy groove that proves mostly forgettable. Sadly, many of the solo numbers don’t allow the very strong cast to show off their vocal chops. Henson nails his first big solo, an endearing ode to wanting a humdrum life, but the number sits easily in the middle of his range and never takes flight either melodically or lyrically. (One of the better lyrics rhymes “plain white picket fence” with “a refrigerator full of expired condiments.”)
And yet, the jokes keep landing with the galumphing energy of the show’s hilariously hirsute hero. (Ricky Reynoso’s costumes, particularly Bigfoot’s shag suit, and Tim Mackabee’s set design underscore the candy-coated broadness of the material.) Bigfoot! may not be a legendary new musical hit, but this production offers some very real pleasures, ★★★☆☆
BIGFOOT!
New York City Center Stage 1, Off Broadway
Running time: 85 minutes (with no intermission)
Tickets on sale through April 26 for $59 to $199
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