Review of Adventure Stage Chicago's Worthy

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called Worthy. It was created by Dani Bryant and directed by Sarah Rose Graber. It was about these three girls--Luna (Juanita Andersen), Liza (Kamille Dawkins), and Robin (Jessica London-Shields--and a boy Joseph (Michael Harris) who all went on this quest, but then there are a bunch obstacles in their way in the form of a dragon (Brittany Ellis), but not in the form of a dragon because she keeps changing her form! The internet is taking over everything and it is affecting these kids because it is making them feel bad about themselves. They want to use the internet to be popular but the problem with that is they think they are going to be popular just by going on the internet, but the truth is there still will be people who just don't like what you are doing. There are people who don't like PewDiePie and he is the most subscribed person on YouTube! The show is trying to show that even on the internet there is bullying and people trying to tell you how to be and even when they say mean things you shouldn't change for them. I thought this was a really great show and is a really great example of how to get through the bullying and the people telling you who you are.

Luna and Robin had a quest together. They got to meet this amazing beautiful YouTuber (who was actually the Dragon) who taught you how to put on makeup. And that was Luna's hero. But then she turned out to be evil. I found that surprising because usually beauty gurus are not usually murderous. And it was very funny too because of how they trapped her--they trapped her by spraying her with a lot of hairspray which I found hilarious. The beauty gurus want to crush the you out of you sometimes, but they don't want to literally kill you. But then sometimes they are not all bad. They show you how to put on makeup because they like to put on makeup. Sometimes it is just for pretend, like you would wear it for halloween parties and stuff like that. I think the play is saying that it is ok to care about how you look, but it is also ok to not care very much or want to look different than other people. Robin doesn't like things that are super girly, but that still doesn't mean that she's not a girl. Luna loves beauty and she cares a lot about her appearance, but that doesn't mean that she is dumb.

I think that I most related to Joseph because we both like video games and are kind of nerdy and we both love PewDiePie. I am also not the bravest person. But I also related to Liza, who seems slightly more brave than Joseph, because she seemed like a smart and loving person and I try to be like that. Their quest happened on this bridge and there was this Troll (who was also the Dragon) who was living under the bridge and really loved Big Gulps and the internet. I loved how the Troll slurped his Big Gulp so much and it kind of looked like he was a hamster and I found that very funny. He had a bunch of different riddles that they had to solve to pass. And they solved the first two and then the third one when the answer is a man and she says woman, the troll is like, "No it is a man!" But then the thing is that both girls and boys are humans and all humans apply to that riddle. I liked that because I found it very powerful, especially when they changed what the page with the answer to the riddle was.

People who would like this show are people who like fairy tales, dragons, and Big-Gulp-drinking trolls. I think people should definitely definitely go see this show. I thought it was a good show for teens and tweens and for adults. It made me think about some of the comments I have been getting on social media and how I shouldn't really take those to my head very much because I shouldn't really care what they think. This play is a great example of not having to care so much about what other people think. Sometimes it is hard to be a tween and know your way around the internet and not have your feelings hurt, and I think this play understood that.

Photos: Johnny Knight