If you need a jolt to your weekend or evening — a caffeine shot, say, or a retro, rock-out experience — then the world premiere of “LOKI: The End of the World Tour” at Lifeline Theatre might be just the ticket. This is especially likely if you are a Norse mythology nerd.
All cultures have their myths, of course. But the Norse deities and concepts are especially juicy and earthy — if you are already familiar with places like Asgard (heavenly home of the gods) and Midgard (where human beings hang), and with names like Odin (boss deity) Freya (goddess of sex, love etc.), Loki (a shape-shifting god) and Sigyn (Loki’s loyal wife), you’ll be in the company of friends here, both on the stage and off. Thor, hammer and all, makes an appearance, being the marquee god in Norse mythology and the focus of no fewer than four standalone Marvel Studios films, but the main action involves the trickster Loki and his disgruntled kids, an eclectic group of offspring, to say the least.
In essence, the book writer Christina Calvit and the Chicago composer George Howe (who has created several small musicals over the last 25 years here) stick a self-aware rock band on stage (“we’re just here to play back-up”), featuring the enigmatic Kara Olander on both keys and guitar, sometimes at the same time, and then tell a story of a Mick Jagger-like Loki (Jack Chylinski) messing with boring Odin (Scott Danielson), Ahnold-like Thor (Keenan Odenkirk) and the Doro Pesch-like Freya (Janelle Sanabria), sowing both confusion and weighty moral decisions wheresoever the god wanders. Loki’s kids do their share of trouble-making too, being sweet, misunderstood teens, even if one of them is literally a snake. Grace Reidenauer is notably complex as one of Loki’s kids. It’s not so easy playing a character with half a normal body and half a decomposing, blue-black corpse. But she thrives.
The tone is probably most accurately defined as tongue-in-cheek, glam-rock spectacle, and my audience research Friday night led me to two conclusions: That (a) most everyone at the packed Rogers Park theater was really, really into this thing, and (b) most everyone was giddy with excitement at the combo of a rock musical with this particular mythic underpinning. Metallica meets “Lord of the Rings,” so to speak.
Happily, director Heather Currie’s unbridled young cast of mostly recent grads sings the bejesus out of Howe’s songs, somewhat of a startling experience, given that Howe’s previous works include “Mr. Popper’s Penguin” (no subtext intended) and “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile,” but god bless them for that. It’s certainly a requirement of the piece, although there are also some sweet songs in the mix here, including “Inevitable,” a solo for the sweet stylings of India Renteria, who plays the long-suffering Sigyn, alongside the more anthemic “Fire and Ice,” et al.
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The look of the show, which has a flashy set by Lindsay Mummert, is cool, too: I was deeply into Aly Amidei’s witty costumes, which reminded me of the work of Suzette Snider, who used to design the outfits for Twisted Sister, and G. “Max” Maxin IV’s lighting cues are, shall we say, never dull.
Are some moments overplayed? Sure. Chylinski’s performance struck me as a blend of smugly indulgent and totally knockout-fabulous and the way forward for director and star actor, in a show that needs more contrast of mood and, er, human vulnerability, is knowing the difference between the two. Separately, a lot of the characters get mad at each at great length. Long after we got the gist.
Does the piece need a cut? Does it ever.
I’d get rid of at least 20 minutes, if not more. Especially from Act 1. The pastiche-like material doesn’t really support 20 different musical numbers (plus reprises), and that only delays the narrative meat of Calvit’s book but it means the best dozen songs, which represent some of Howe’s best work, ever, don’t get to breathe. Calvit was smart enough to create the device of a band who can tells us what is going on and contextualize it, but they’re underused in that role.
If the creative team here committed to losing the “B” material and kept all of the self-aware wit, and maybe changed the mouthful of a title, I’d say they have a very viable off-Broadway-type musical that would delight the Marvel slash Comic-Con set, not least because it feels as fresh and fun as it does familiar. Already, if you are interested in new rock musicals, it’s good value at 45 bucks (less for students). You get your money’s worth in energy alone.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic
Review: “LOKI: The End of the World Tour” (3 stars)
When: Through June 14
Where: Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave.
Running time: 2 hours, 35 mins.
Tickets: $45 at 773-761-4477 and lifelinetheatre.com