Superhero Musical 'Doc Danger' is a Pow! Bam! Hit

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Milwaukee Opera Theatre’s Doc Danger and the Danger Squad unfolds in the pages of “Breathtaking Tales #17” where we meet some favorite archetypes of the pulp fiction. Super-strong adventurer Doc Danger (Briana Rose Lipor) is a nod to pulp heroes like Doc Savage; he’s joined by laser pistol dueling “Cowgirls on the Moon” Satellite Sally (Carrie Gray) and her suffering sidekick Clare de Lune (Hannah Esch); jungle protector princess Jesai of the Jaguars (Stephanie Staszak); and the enigmatic detective Lady in Black (Rae Elizabeth Paré).

It’s a simpler time of storytelling where good is good and bad is bad. Righteous heroes battle maniacally laughing baddies like the nefarious Professor Z (Eric Welch), his robot (Melissa Anderson), black hat cowgirl Penny Dreadful (Becky Cofta) and the deliciously evil Beetle Queen (Ana Gonzalez). The villains steal an important gem, kidnap a scientist (Sean Jackson), and plan to…what else?…rule the world. Will our heroes prevail?

Milwaukee composer Jason Powell (who also wrote MOT’s Fortuna the Time Bender vs. the Schoolgirls of Doom) pays loving homage to the pulps of the 1920s and ‘30s and argues that the genre—often dismissed as trash—has progressive, empowering female characters. All of this is eagerly soaked in by The Kid (Harper Navin), who channels the excitement of reading an intense cliffhanger. Doc Danger’s rollicking musical score is a piano accompaniment that often adds to the pulp flavor on songs. The story sometimes has a tone that’s hard to put a finger on, especially when it takes a depressing detour into reality in Act Two, but all the actors do a great job of delivering colorful characters.

Overall, it’s as fun as a stack of comic books and some candy on a summer afternoon.

Through Aug. 30 at Broadway Theatre Center’s Studio Theatre, 158 N. Broadway. For tickets visit www.milwaukeeoperatheatre.org.