SpeakEasy Stage's fantasy musical 'Lizard Boy' offers a simple morality tale

SpeakEasy Stage Company’s musical “Lizard Boy” is a mixed bag. Playwright Justin Huertas’ show — which explores themes of loneliness and the quest for acceptance — has exuberant tunes, but it’s too smooth a ride, offering little tension. The story is delivered in a campy, comic-book-like wrapper, but it’s a rather straightforward moral tale that doesn’t seem to match up to its own fanfare. But what it lacks in narrative complexity, it strives to make up for in energy and passion.

Directed by Lyndsay Allyn Cox, the 90-minute fantasy musical centers on Trevor (Keiji Ishiguri with a lovely vocal timbre), a queer outcast who only leaves the house once a year during Monster Fest when the town’s residents dress up like the beasts of their nightmares. That’s the only day — the audience learns (slowly) — Trevor feels normal since a dragon slaying he witnessed left him with green skin and scales. Aesthetically, there’s minimal makeup or costuming, though, to indicate this. So the audience has to imagine how Trevor looks to others.

Trevor’s appearance keeps him from finding friends and lovers, but the Grindr app leads him to Cary (the fantastically funny, talented actor and multi-instrumentalist Peter DiMaggio). Cary is well-meaning, affable and a little awkward. While their relationship blooms, they run into a singing Siren with a macabre disposition (a skillful Chelsea Nectow who plays the keys, a kazoo, maracas and more). Siren, a “scary blonde” whom Trevor has dreamed about, warns him of a pending dragon apocalypse and needs his help to stop it. If he refuses, the consequences will be dire.

Trevor doesn’t believe her and acts as though it’s improbable. But in a world where a dragon slaying could turn a boy into a lizard, it’s unclear why. What is maybe too obvious is that the dragon seems to be a metaphor for that which is different. Something to fear. When Siren says the dragons will come and kill them all, Trevor says, “they might be friendly.”

In any case, Huertas’ noteworthy musical compositions are in great hands under Violet Wang’s musical direction. The songs are fun, catchy and well-sung by Ishiguri, DiMaggio and Nectow, although I wished for pit singers for an even fuller sound during solos. The energy is at peak level throughout the production (and the actors adeptly managed this de rigueur). Also, multiple items onstage (including an instrument case) and foot-stomping act as percussion tools to continue driving the pulse. Still, the lack of action in the script caused the show to feel a little too long. Luckily, there are some laugh-out-loud moments, such as DiMaggio’s embodiment of Cary’s physical aversion to blood or his sexy baby costume.

“Lizard Boy” premiered at the Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2015 and had its off-Broadway run in June of 2023 at the Prospect Theater Company. Since its debut, the play has been nominated for three Drama Desk Awards. When writing “Lizard Boy,” Huertas said in an interview, “It wasn’t until we got into rehearsal that I understood what I was doing. I was really writing about my experience growing up brown in white spaces.”

Navigating being othered comes with various challenges, and Huertas’ “Lizard Boy” acts as a not-so-subtle vehicle to show others that the real superpower is being yourself, and not to fear what you don’t understand.

SpeakEasy Stage Company’s production of “Lizard Boy” runs through Nov. 22.