WICKET, A New Dad's Garage Musical, Revises Classic Star Wars Tale

In our latest scripted show Wicket, we take the classic Star Wars tale, and retell it from the Ewoks' perspective. Taking the concept of a revisionist history of a classic tale (similar to Wicked telling another side of the story of The Wizard of Oz), Wicket provides a completely new interpretation of what was going on in Star Wars. If you've ever wondered "Where did Ewoks come from?" or "How can they be so cute but also so deadly?" or "How does a primitive teddy bear society have the ability to seamlessly use advanced technology with absolutely no training?" ... Wicket will answer all! Prepare for the cutest, cuddliest and deadliest creatures as they sing and dance to share their story of what was really going on in the Galactic Federation.

In this show, Ewoks are not a random semi-sentient species on a moon where the Empire has just happened to build a shield generator for their sequel death star. In Wicket, we learn that the Ewoks were created by the Emperor to sell as toys. Yes, toys. The Emperor combined DNA from various alien species to create the perfect cuddly buddy. Part wookie, part gamorrean, part mynock and part sarlacc... Ewoks were crafted to be the fuzziest, chubbiest, huggiest and never-need-to-feed-em toys in the universe. Unfortunately, each of these species also had a dark side, which means that killing is literally in the Ewoks' DNA. The story begins as the Emperor is ready to package up Ewoks and send them out.

The hero of our show is Wicket, an even undersized Ewok from the original film Return of the Jedi. As a pint-sized Ewok, Wicket doesn't get much respect. He wants to be with his true love, the Ewok princess Kneesaa, but tradition states she must marry someone of her stature. Wicket must figure out if he has the Force if he wants to save his species and get his dream girl. Also on Endor, Ensign, the only female scientist working for the Empire, discovers that the Ewoks are an engineered race. She wants to show the Emperor that women and people of color can be great scientists, but she has to grapple with the evilness of her job. Can everyone come together to save the universe from destruction and save the Ewoks from mass distribution?

Along the way, there's some great original music in Wicket. The show doesn't parody pop songs, but instead creates an entirely new style of musical theatre. Wicket takes the primitive instruments of Ewok civilization and turns them into harmonic gold with a style we call "Ewok Rock." Combine this with a bit of heavy metal, some John Williams influenced orchestration and classic Broadway show tunes-Wicket pulls out all the stops for some fun musical action.

VITALS:

Wicket
Sept. 8 - Oct. 7
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays
8 p.m.

Thursday: $12.50 online, $14.50 phone & door
Friday: $17.50 online, $19.50 phone & door
Saturday: $20.50 online, $22.50 phone & door

Delta First Class (reserved) seats +$7

About Dad's Garage Theatre Company:

Founded in 1995, Dad's Garage Theatre Company has grown from a small volunteer led organization to a thriving mid-size theatre led by professional artistic and administrative staff that includes over 300 volunteers and performers. We now entertain more than 33,000 people each year in Atlanta, at public events across the state and at improv festivals across the continent. In addition to outrageous original productions, Dad's Garage produces improv shows year-round, educates young improvisers in a high school outreach program and facilitates classes and workshops for the general public.

Dad's Garage relies on financial support from several generous companies to keep producing scripted and improv comedy. Special thanks to MailChimp, Turner, Fulton County Arts Council, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Delta Air Lines, Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund, Kickapoo and the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs for their support.