Review of Haymaker at The Neo-Futurarium

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called Haymaker. It was created by Trevor Dawkins, and it was directed by Kurt Chiang. It was about a man named Trevor who was making a movie with some of his friends, a movie he had written when he was 13. Then he cast everyone in different parts, but then they could sometimes get angry with him because they couldn't play some of the parts they wanted to play because the parts didn't "fit" them. This show is about friendship, perfectionism, and Nazis. I loved this show. I was laughing my face off. It was just hilarious and you are so up close to all the actors that you feel like you are part of the movie too. The stage combat is the coolest stage combat you'll ever see!

There was a man (Andrew Tham) who did all the sounds basically on stage who also played the role of the landlord. I liked the sounds in the show. I really liked them because they really sounded like the different things that were happening on stage. And they made it even funnier, like when someone was roaring or when someone had just broken a bone or something like that. The landlord would make all the different noises, like he made the noise of his own death, which I thought was kind of hilarious. Also it was kind of cool how he played a part, because usually in a show they need the sound all the time so that can't happen. But in this, this guy could still do the sound but also be a character.

I thought that the stage combat was amazing. All of it was awesome and they used their bodies so well--like when Russell Dakota gave Lukas Haas (Kevin Duvall) a haymaker in midair. I thought that Ran (Dallas Tolentino) was a great character to have in the movie and I wish that that character wasn't a villain. This character was supposed to be like the scariest assassin ever because if you were in a room with him you knew you were going to die. I thought it was super cool how when he was walking away after he had killed like five people, and then one of them was trying to get away, he threw a ninja star back and cut out that guy's throat. Even though he is not actually throwing a ninja star and cutting out someone's throat, Daiva Bhandari made it so convincing that she was actually dying. And when he threw the star, he wasn't even looking. It was crazy.

I thought that the Nazis were hilarious. Their accents were so bad that they were amazing. One of my favorite characters was Colonel Maximillian Sturm (Mike Hamilton) because he was so hilarious because he said things like "I think you may be right, Major. A storm is coming. Heh heh heh heh." He says it in a German accent and draws out the i in is. Trevor chose to make a film with Nazis because there was a girl that he liked and a boy came over and insulted him. And then he asked his dad if he would be mad if he punched someone. And his dad said "Of course I would be mad at you." But then Trevor thought, "Everyone hates Nazis, so what if I did the same thing to Nazis in this movie I am going to make."

I thought that it was hilarious how Sarah Fornace played the giant monster Samstag. And she is not super tall and she does not have bulging muscles and she is not a robot. And there's a sound which is like a big giant roar, like a Godzilla roar, and she is lip-syncing to that and it is just hilarious because that doesn't seem like the voice she would make. I think they did that because they wanted there to be a funniness to this part of it because after this Trevor was like, you are too short so you can't play it. And she says, "But that was my only named character, otherwise I am just dead Nazis." And then she decided she was going to be Rachel Dakota instead of Russell Dakota which was the main guy's part. Then you see how good she is at fighting and then he is like, "now the monster is dead" even though she did all the fighting. Then you felt kind of sorry for her because she had become the best Rachel Dakota ever but then her talent was ignored. Sometimes in movies the best people in the movie actually have the smallest parts.

Brenda Arellano played Elona who is basically Dakota' girlfriend. She is angry about her character throughout the entire show because she feels like she is just basically a prop. She plays other characters that she makes up, like Stabitha and The Privates of a Robot, to make up for the other character she is playing. She is a great fighter, but she is not appreciated. I think that Trevor and Brenda maybe were actually really dating because their relationship seemed very real. Their relationship goes through change because they get angry at each other but then at the end they love each other and they are not angry. They learn that the part they play in a movie doesn't change them. And she is more appreciated at the end because at the end of the movie she gets to save Dakota as Stabitha fused with Elona. I think that was cool how she did that because you wouldn't ever think she would do that.

People who would like this show are people who like hilarious Nazis, silent star-throwing ninjas, and unexpected roaring. People should definitely go and see this show because it has awesome butt-kicking moments and is funny. This can be okay for kids as long as their parents know there is swearing and talk of private parts. It teaches you what's wrong about movies and what is right about movies. And it is awesome.


Photos: Taylor Bailey