John McClane (John Ardolino, also book writer and co-lyricist) is a New York City cop on a visit to LA to see his estranged wife, and their kids. His wife just happens to work for a company that is holding an immense amount of money in a safe downstairs that just happens to be targeted by a Russian terrosit group, led by the evil Hans (Nate Begle). Can McClane put a stop to this group's scheme, win back his wife, and avoid jet lag?
As I entered the theater, and saw a sign warning that this show contains "brief puppet nudity," I became a tad worried that this would be the Avenue Q version of Die Hard. Fortunately, very early on, this proved to not be the cast, as, in particular, the puppets used were incredibly varied and original. The owner of the company was portrayed by a giant balloon face over the body of the person doing the rest of the actions; the LA policeman who had a history of killing children was portrayed by a full-size body doll, one of the terrorists had a box-head, with a mop for hair; a giant care bear was...a giant care bear, and, in the most dazzling form of puppetry, Hans was simply a face that was held and voiced by Mr. Begle, standing in back of a woman who provided the body movements for Hans, while his "face" covered hers. These performers were so in sync that at times, it really seemed that her arms were attached to Hans' face. McClane was the only human character.Aside from some dazzling puppetry, the show itself was, unsurprisingly, hysterical. I've actually never seen the Die Hard movie, but I can't imagine it being as funny as this musical version (even without the puppets), and so, I imagine, some creative liberties were taken with the source material to allow for all of the humor that occurred during the show. There is a reference to the different airplane regulations in the 80's, a character lovingly known as "The Chinese Guy Who Appears In Every Action Film Ever Made," and a very amusing end for the boss, the balloon character.
Though several songs serve the sole function of humor, much of the score was infectious and memorable. My personal favorite was Hans' song about how he became evil, brilliantly sung in a deep, bass voice by Mr. Begle. Other infectious songs included John's theme song, which opened the show, and "What's A Terrorist To Do (When He's In Love)," complete with slides detailing their relationship.
Performances were great all around. One of my only complaints was that I think the show could have been a tad shorter. At a time where I was ready for the climax of the show, I instead received one of the supporting characters' backstory. So, I would say the show runs at a good pace up until the last third, when it begins to drag. Also, the inclusion of a Muslim terrorist puppet was a little much, especially with him being on the plane, as well.
I can't envision the show having any sort of "run," but I could see it working very nicely as a once-a-month, once-every-two-months special midnight event. There is only one remaining performance of Die Hard: The Puppet Musical, and I highly recommend catching it, provided it's not yet soldout. Die Hard: The Puppet Musical will certainly leave you shouting, "Yippee - Ki - Yay, Motherf*cker!"
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