Fort Fringe Redrum, 610 L Street NW
Remaining Performances:
Tuesday, July 12th, 7 p.m.
Thursday, July 14th, 8 p.m.
Friday, July 22nd, 10:45 p.m.
They say: “Captain Freedom has saved the world countless time and looked fantastic doing it, but not even a superhero is recession-proof. A super-heroic comedy from Landless Theatre (Diamond Dead, Carrie Potter) and humorist G. Xavier Robillard (alldaycoffee.net).”
Lindsey’s Take: What will happen when our great hero is forced to retire? Who will take on supervillains Loofah and The Ombudsman? Will the world ever be safe again?
When this American-flag-Elvis-costume-clad hero with an aversion to soy products decides to write a memoir with support from his life-coach, you know this isnt your typical comic book. Captain Freedom tells his story in chapters, from high school, where we meet his girlfriend (who will become a super-assassin after their breakup) and the dweeb he cheats off of, to his first job as Liberty Bill. We meet his first sidekick, Wizzy the Microsoft Word Paper Clip, and watch his marriage and career fall apart in the funniest possible way: punctuated by drunken debacles and fight scenes.
Villains and sidekicks and spandex pants abound, but the jokes never get too campy or over-the-top. Graphic novel-style art is projected on the back wall, adding to the comic book feel. The sound effects and fight scenes are great, even when they devolve into thumb-wars. The characters, all played by a few cast members, have hilarious costumes and even better voices. You wont have any trouble hearing any funny lines, as the show uses microphones, though they’re probably unnecessary.
Captain Freedom may not be the superhero Id want in charge of saving the world, but that makes this show all the more enjoyable. Really, he seems like the fantasy alter ego of a perpetual bachelor: He imagines himself a superhero, but retains the stereotypical over-involved mother, commitment-phobia and lazy style. And thats just hilarious.
Find out what happens to our hero in the next Captain Freedom!
See it if: You like comic books, superheroes, and freedom.
Skip it if: You already have an arch-nemesis.