Review: GOLEM OWNED A TROPICAL SMOOTHIE Gives 54 Below Audience A Wacky, Entertaining Night Out

Golem Owned a Tropical Smoothie opens with bright and cheerful melody. "Golem owns a Tropical Smoothie." Why does he? The refrain, "Don't think too hard and don't ask questions" answers that question, and provides the ethos for the show, a not-too-serious farce done in the spirit of musical parodies like Stranger Sings!, which one of the co-writers stars in.

The show, co-written by Ethan Crystal and Stranger Sings' Garrett Poladian, is pure comedy. It follows a 15-year-old boy working at a Tropical Smoothie in Florida, which just happens to be owned by Golem (their interpretation of the creature from Jewish folklore bearing no intentional resemblance to any character from Lord of the Rings). The concert at 54 Below showcased a sampling of eight songs from the musical, performed stunningly by Julian Diaz-Granados, Aneesa Nael Folds, Carson Higgins, and Lea Nardi, plus the co-writers, who played the titular Golem and his evil foil, Smeegle. Some inventive puppetry brought the sparse production a little added fun; there's a chorus of dogs at one point made of what I'm pretty sure were dog slippers, and a lot of action happened off to the sides, with creative use of 54 Below's space. The evening had an air of "What just happened? Did I really see Aneesa Folds eat a french fry off a very surprised looking audience member's plate?" At one point an actor did a genuine spit take on someone in the audience, I guess, surprised by Folds' sudden appearance off-stage while he was taking a sip of water. It was so crazy I was like, "Was that part of it? Is that person a plant?" (I don't think so, but the actor handled it remarkably professionally, leaning down to whisper "I'm so sorry" and handing them something to wipe themself down with without missing a beat on his lines in the song.)

I can forgive him for being startled. Folds was, as always, a tour de force and a pleasure to watch. She came in strong on her first song, "Green Dragon," belting it out while manipulating an actual puppet of a green dragon. Mid-song, she shut down the show for several minutes as a bit, in faux annoyance about the whole thing, saying "I'm not going to finish this song until I get paid." Crystal and Poladian came out, huddled together, figuring out how they'd scrape up enough money to pay her. "What are we paying you?" they asked, to which Folds replied, deadpan, "$25." They proceeded to go around to the audience, demanding money so they could pay Folds and continue the show. They got the money almost immediately, receiving a $20 and a $5 from the first two people they asked, but said in a stage whisper, "Don't tell anyone that we made enough. We're going to keep going." The money presumably went to the artists' fund advertised at the start of the show with a tongue-in-cheek video stating that all of the proceeds from the night (except for the food, drinks and ticket price) would be going to support artists, specifically Crystal and Poladian, and you could support the fund by Venmoing "whichever one you think is cuter."

Jamir Brown and SLee Mumford supported the concert with background vocals and extra puppetry as needed. The songs were rounded out by a five-piece band with musical director Stephen Murphy on piano, Nathan Repasz on drums, Alex Petti on guitar and banjo, Nitsan Shai on bass, and Josh Plotner on woodwinds.

If you missed this one-night-only premiere, you can find clips and songs from the show on the artists' social media and follow them for news about whether and when this absurdist show will make it to the stage in a fully fledged production. (Producers, we're looking at you.)

For more information on Golem Owned a Tropical Smoothie, visit their website, and follow them on Facebook @golemownedatropicalsmoothie or on Instagram at @golemmusical.

For more information on 54 Below you can visit their website, and follow them on Twitter or Instagram at @54Below.

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