What a blast! What if Reefer Madness was updated to the 1950’s as an afternoon teen soap opera directed by Ed Wood and emceed by a combo Rod Serling/Criswell morality cop? Throw in some Father Knows Best, Donna Reed and The Patty Duke Show and Rene Magritte.

No what if’s. It’s done…by the Lumina Studio Theatre. Girls Who Think They’re Hot is funny, clever and worth more than $17.00. The acting is sublime throughout and each actor takes real fun and pleasure in the portrayals onstage.

The social cynicism of the meritocracy is grounded in the apocryphal television and film didacticism in we were brought up. When the WWII and the baby boomer generations attained higher education and adulthood, the fraudulence of the institutions with which we were indoctrinated sent us on to create The Kentucky Fried Movie and The Groove Tube. I cannot even begin to explain to the youngers the public school film treats your parents and grandparents were forced to watch. Reefer Madness and The Last Prom were fed to us in all seriousness and our rebellion through critical thinking and an arts education forced the then establishment to fight back with The Mod Squad….Aaron f…….Spelling!

Girls Who Think They’re Hot is the 59 second employee’s answer to the one minute manager. It is a delicious little piece of nostalgia for us aging baby boomers and our bad knees. It’s a comic cupcake for everyone else. Go see it and enjoy.

Cast

• Narator: Michael Novello…very funny
• Poppy Topp: Clare Lefebure….pretty and funny, Patty Duke
• Skrunk: Claire Koenig… Red Skelton with a little Zelda Gilroy
• Biff Bosco, Plop, Magritte Man: Raphael Grimes…think Eddie Applegate
• Sally Smith, Tommy Topp: Kiva Brick…think Elinor Donahue
• Mr. Topp, Wally, Cop, Magritte Man: Marcus Gordon….Bachelor Father
• Mrs. Topp, Squishy, Magritte Man: Maya Kozarsky….think June Cleaver
• Larry Lonk, Magritte Man: Robert Schepis….Jughead
• Ravina Russell, Magritte Man: Maya Davis…think Delores Fuller

Production Staff

• Director: Ritchie Porter
• Production Assistant: Molly Graham Hickman
• Costumes: Dianne Dumais, Wendy Eck
• Lighting: Dan Mellitz

Disclaimer: Capital Fringe provided one complimentary media ticket to ShowBizRadio for this review.