Review: Torchsong's THE JOLLY RIOT is Both Jolly and Riotous

Every trip to the theatre is an adventure, but Torchsong Entertainment takes that to a whole new level. Their current show, THE JOLLY RIOT, is a pirate metal musical featuring swashbuckling music, all your favorite pirate tropes, and plenty of camp.

In case you also have only a passing acquaintance with the pirate genre, pirate metal is a real thing. It mashes up heavy metal with sea shanties, and performances often involve costumes. For THE JOLLY RIOT, Torchsong has woven together a collection of songs from some top pirate metal bands (like Alestorm) with a story about a young woman (Josephine "Joe" Doyle) who joins a band of pirates to improve her lot in life.

The plot goes like this: The crew of the ship The Jolly Riot, led by Captain Red Molly, sets sail to a deserted island to find a buried treasure. Red Molly has an ulterior motive involving her missing husband, and Joe discovers some secrets about her parents, and...actually, the plot isn't that important. What is important is that the show has sword fights, mermaids, sea monsters, and all that fun stuff.

I had a great time at THE JOLLY RIOT. It's full of bad pirate accents and bad pirate jokes and all other manner of bad pirate-themed things. The music -- played by Ken Bussell, Loren Thompson, Ragon Linde, and Madeline Moum -- will have you clapping your hands and stomping your feet. And the cast, headed by Heidi Davis as Red Molly and 8th grader Kaia Jeffries as Joe, has the requisite blend of comic ability and vocal talent to make the adventure work.

THE JOLLY RIOT has four more shows through March 24. More details and tickets here.

Note: This is essentially a heavy metal concert with a plot, so things get loud (they sell earplugs on site). Also, it's a perfect chance to wear that pirate costume again.