Cheesy Intergalactic Fun with ‘Invader’

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Photo Credit: UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts

Whatever you expect when seeing Invader? I Hardly Know Her!, this is not it. The newest show by Peck School of the Arts is a space opera musical written by local talent Jason Powell and directed by Katie Cummings. The musical draws its aesthetic from old B-movies; it is fun, uninhibited, clownish and cheesy as hell.

While the story starts slowly with a wedding between Dwight (Dan Persino) and Jennifer (Eleanor Wenker), it doesn’t take long for the groom to realize that the bride is an extraterrestrial spy who came to investigate the antimatter pouring out of his toilets. And the bridesmaids? They are all undercover government agents, including genetically enhanced super spies who were made to be too sexy because of sexually frustrated scientists. A handful of other aliens pour onto the stage as the story picks up pace, eventually ending in space in pursuit of a five-dimensional intergalactic threat, before a genuinely epic climax.

The plot is overpopulated, including subplots such as one super spy falling in love with Dwight, a lesbian cosmic love story and a race of aliens that feel intense pain when aroused, among many other threads. The acting is also uneven: While some, like Wenker or Phoebe Albert (as Grazz), deliver a strong performance from start to finish, other characters feel underdeveloped or exaggerated.

However, none of this really matters, as Invader? does not rely on traditional theater appeal. It is bursting at the seams with energy and motivation; the actors jump, run, dance, do cartwheels, flip and move so much that you feel exhausted just looking at them. The cheap aspect of the costumes and décors is easily forgiven as the show is well aware of itself, making jokes such as “You’re not going to sing the explanation, are you?” and “You didn’t see it, but it happened during the intermission.” Overall, the show is exceedingly honest, aiming not to impress you but to entertain you. It is not for everyone, but it is certainly an enjoyable experience for amateurs of the genre.