Lizard Boy

Speakeasy Stage Boston

October 24 – November 22, 2025

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Justin Huertas

Directed by Lyndsay Allyn Cox

Twenty years ago, Mount St. Helens erupted, a dinosaur spewed forth, landed at a nearby playground, was beheaded by EMT’s, and the blood that spewed onto five children gave them various superpowers. All except Trevor, who was doused with the most blood. He simply turned green.

If that premise inspires or delights you, you’re going to love Lizard Boy as much as I do. If the comic book silliness is too much for you, the times are ripe to snuggle up with George Orwell. But…you’ll be missing so much fun.

Trevor (Keiji Ishiguri) is a shut-in, embarrassed by his green skin, except for one night a year, when Monsterfest brings out all sorts, and he can blend into the crowd. He hooks up with Cary (Peter DiMaggio), though it takes the two some time to navigate the minefield of hook-up versus date. Eventually, they go clubbing and hear a singer (Chelsea Nectow), who’s the Siren of Trevor’s bad dreams. The trio are uniformly good. Chelsea is a stand-out. All Joan Jett and Grace Slick, until she releases her Siren scat across the horizon of heaven.

I won’t try to relay any more plot because, frankly, I didn’t understand what was going on much of the time. But really, I didn’t care. Comic books are about color, action, and splash. So too, is Lizard Boy.

Lyndsay Allyn Cox’s direction, energetic to the precipice of frenzy, perfectly suits the tenor of the play. There are only three actors, doubling as the musicians, but they are everywhere, all the time, generating the presence of a complete ensemble. There’s piano and guitar, as in any indie-rock musical, but also ukulele and kazoo and cello. Yes…cello! The percussion is as surprising as it is insistent. The rubber hammer against the steamer trunk is a reliable motif, but when Siren angrily bangs the guitar case on the floor to the beat…I thought it was just hysterical.

The interaction of cast and music and instrument reaches a crescendo in a superbly crafted choreography when the action peaks – just as the world is about to end!!! Holy tambourine, Bat Man! I never crossed such a violent cello!

The mere title, Lizard Boy, conjures memories of Speakeasy triumphs past. The 2003 production of Bat Boy: the Musical, (which this longtime Speakeasy patron considers its finest show ever) had its run extended I can’t recall how many times. The similarities between the two shows go beyond the title word, Boy. Each displays the plight of a human creature augmented by extra-species characteristics. Each title character considers their difference their weakness and futilely strives to fit in, until they realize that their difference is their strength. Or, as Trevor finally sings in comic book lingo, “My difference is my superpower!”

Surprise, surprise, the world doesn’t end. All are saved. Hope blossoms. And you’ve just enjoyed a marvelous ninety-minutes escaping the Orwellian shadows of present times.