Review: Refracted Theatre's I'M GONNA MARRY YOU TOBEY MAGUIRE at Den Theatre

It’s 2004, and Y2K fashion is in high season, basement walls are plastered with celebrity posters, and internet fan clubs provide immeasurable comfort. Cosmo magazine quizzes, Britney Spears, and Shrek define this era of unimaginable and unparalleled cringe. As a farcical Off-Broadway show written by Samantha Hurley, Refracted Theatre Company’s production of I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire directed by Tyler Struble is sure to leave you laughing while making you simultaneously nostalgic and relieved you’re no longer in the throes of middle school. 

We jump right in with Tobey Maguire (Jasper Johnson) handcuffed to a pole in the basement of eighth-grader Shelby Hinkley (Alex O’Shea). Indeed, this fourteen-and-a-half year old who is the president of the Tobey Maguire Fan Club has stalked and kidnapped the famous actor so that she can marry him and escape her reality where her father is absent and her mother yells at and neglects her while her classmates ridicule and bully her. It’s such a ridiculous premise, but Hurley’s sharp and pointed writing, Struble’s bold and creative direction, and the cast of three’s extremely believable performances make that ridiculous premise work. 

Everything already feels high stakes as a middle schooler, but once you add in a dysfunctional home life and outcast school experience, that loneliness compounds into outlets of celebrity fanaticism and username friendships. O’Shea captures the eighth grade social awkwardness, angst, and mannerisms perfectly. Her performance as Shelby Hinkley is so layered in the pangs of adolescence from her body language, facial expressions, unfiltered questions, and juvenile (mis)understanding of sex and drugs. As she makes her bedazzled Tobey-pedia binder, stresses about butterfly clips for the middle school dance, and expresses her emotions by performing her own lyrics to instant classics, we can’t help but empathize — and maybe even slightly relate – with her extremely misguided act of fangirl obsession and desperation. 

Johnson embodies Tobey Maguire and nails the reaction to being kidnapped by a middle schooler. From the initial panic and denial to the Stockholm Syndrome acting, he adds so much complexity to this character we are so familiar with in name — but who are we to know who Tobey Maguire actually is? His monologue about fame — and the proximity to fame — features some brilliant improvisation and audience participation. His performance reminds us that celebrities are still nuanced humans, especially in the 2000s when paparazzi culture was particularly relentless and brutal. 

Lucy Stoole/Ty Huey rounds out the cast with an extremely versatile performance as the real estate mogul and cornhole champion Brenda Dee Cankles, the harsh voice of Shelby’s Mom, and the hallucinations of the Tobey Maguire poster. Their comedic touches, costume changes, and fabulous makeup simply add to the ultimate absurdity of the whole situation. 

The entire atmosphere of the production completely transports us back to peak 2000s. Trenton Jones’s basement set design, Madeleine Shows’s costume design, and G. “Max” Maxin IV’s media design with the persistent static effect over Tobey Maguire clips in particular leave no doubt about the time period we suddenly find ourselves in as we step into the intimate Bookspan Theatre in 2026. 

The show is chaotic and absurd in the best possible way. You’ll be laughing at the craziest lines, line deliveries, and references galore. I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire is a humorous and brutal depiction of the social gauntlet that is both pre-teen years and celebrity status — and provides a gentle reminder that the seemingly worst years of your life does pass and life does get better, whether you’re navigating the hells of middle school or the peak of your fame. Anyway, here’s Wonderwall. 

Refracted Theatre Company’s production of I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire is now playing through October 31 in the Bookspan Theatre at The Den Theatre (1331 N Milwaukee Ave). The running time is 105 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $40 before handling fees.

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