Secret Identity Crisis

Behind every mask, beneath every cape, beside every hero... there is a story.  

A story of triumph...  A story of sorrow...  A story of love...

March 24th to May 14th, 2011, the Un-Scripted Theater Company brings you Secret Identity Crisis! A two hour long form story about what goes on when the masks come off.

Show Summaries

  • Cleveland Howls - Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 8pm

    The nefarious "The Paw" (Merrill) and her pet, "X" (Amber) hatch an evil scheme to kidnap and then turn all the pets in Cleveland against their owners. But Cleveland’s Mayor is too ineffective to do anything about the vanishing animals despite constant goading from budding reporter Laura (Mandy). When X tries to turn mayoral intern Bernie (Paul) into a mole in city hall, he finds himself entangled in The Paw’s nefarious plans, and his own dog Duke suffers the same fate as all of Cleveland’s furry friends. But with the help of "Tornado Dude" (Michael) with his powers over wind and weather, and his sidekick "Gryphon" (Mia) who can sense the emotions of animals, Bernie attempts to thwart The Paw, rescue Laura, and find Duke.

  • Rise of the Fisher - Friday, March 25, 2011 - 8pm

    Just an infant when her mother suddenly died, Heather (Amber) always knew there was something a little different about her. Her tutor in a small Tennessee commune, Brother Hezekiah (Bryce) believed it too - though many thought he was crazy as he prepared her for the coming of The Fisher, one of many beings from beyond our world who need human beings to act as hosts for their nefarious plans. When Brother Hezekiah dies, it’s up to Heather, her astronaut true love Skip (Greg), and their unexpected super-ally Pegasus (Mia) to rescue the innocent man possessed by The Fisher (Clay).

  • The Spiders of Lornsville - Saturday, March 26, 2011 - 8pm

    Jacob Cartwright (Alex) was a brilliant child, constantly outshining young Laura Campbell (Mia) and her best friend Helen Vermbach (Mandy) all the way from 5th grade through post doctoral work at Harvard. Laura’s infatuation with Jacob goes a bit overboard when, at the Post Doctoral Science Fair, she attempts to present genetically modified, super-venomous arachnids in order to outshine him.  When Professor Robert Solace (Aaron) [Also secretly the herbalogically empowered "The Chia" (retired)] strips her of her research position and expels her from Harvard, Laura releases the arachnid that changes her into "The Spider."  Commanding her spider minions to attack and mutate the population of North America, not even the President is safe. With the help of the mysterious Mahogany Ohio (Michael) and the un-retired "The Chia" Jacob finds himself in the middle of a fight to save not only the world, but the woman he didn’t even know he loved.

  • The Safety Trance - Thursday, March 31, 2011 - 8pm

    Young Timmy (Paul) has led a tragic life. First his father, then his mother, then his grandmother... everyone close to him dies in a horribl e accident—leaving him obsessed with safety. At school, Timmy and sidekick Bella (Merrill) befriend the new girl, Louise (Mia), and make fun of Barclay (Greg), the boy with aphasia (the inability to use words correctly). As years go by, Timmy gets help from therapist Dr. Lichtenstein (Michael), but Barclay is saddled with Dr. Ribbons (Mia), the world’s worst speech therapist. He's almost cured—but Louise's engagement to Timmy drives Barclay mad, and he becomes The Malapropism, with the power to reach into others' minds and disconnect words from their meanings. It's up to Timmy and Bella to keep Louise—and the world—SAFE from a fate worse than death!

  • It Happened in Rio - Friday, April 1, 2011 - 8pm

    Nerd and all-around punching bag Todd Winkle (Bryce) finally gets up the nerve to ask she-nerd Jacklyn (Melissa) to the prom. But Todd’s dreams are smashed when, in a terrible accident that takes the lives of two of his LARP buddies, he is transformed into The Wildebeest. Jacklyn rebuffs him in this hideous form, and he hides in the dollar movie theater—owned by Kevin Kernel (Alex), who helps him accept what he's become. Meanwhile, asthmatic Linda Masterson (Mia) is whisked away by a government black-ops organization so they can hone her psychic abilities and turn her into a killing machine, code-named "Sneezing Unicorn"—how could THAT go wrong? Thus, The Wildebeest must join forces with Foxy Giraffe (Aaron) to try and stop Sneezing Unicorn and rescue his love, Jacklyn.

  • A Needle to the Heart - Saturday, April 2, 2011 - 8pm

    Talented Dr. John Greenstreet (Greg) seeks to "first do no harm," using his secret healing abilities to help patients. He's awestruck by smug local superhero Seismo (Michael), who can harness the power of tectonic plates AND save lives without harm. But the hospital is under attack from Seismo's old flame, the anti-technologist The Seamstress (Merrill)! With help from Seismo and from John's mentor Dr. Carl Shedd (Clay), Dr. Greenstreet—as sidekick "Tremor"—foils The Seamstress and wins the heart of cantankerous Chief of Medicine Penelope Ferguson (Mandy)—but he learns that you can't always save everyone . . . 

  • The Fires of Broadway - Thursday, April 7, 2011 - 8pm

    Mandy's character is a lonesome mathematical child, who grows up to become the most competent accountant in the tri-state area. To break her out of her shell, her mysterious uncle Puce (Michael) takes her under his wing. She auditions for a bit part in the theater, and ends up with the lead, opposite handsome Richard (Aaron) (secretly Maestro, a superhero seeking the quiet life). Meanwhile, Mia's character, similarly alone and raised by servants, desperately seeks to buy herself closer to stardom, even with a single snail from Mr. Abernathy (Greg)'s Snail Circus. Thwarted and jealous of Maestro's costar, she begins burning theaters and kidnapping artists and writers until there's only one theater left on Broadway - and THEN she moves in for the kill. But these two girls are more alike than they realize, and can Uncle Puce REALLY see the future? Everyone will have to give the performance of a lifetime -- just to stay alive.

  • Something Swedish This Way Comes - Friday, April 8, 2011 - 8pm

    Keith (Greg) has a mechanical, withdrawn life working at Ikea until he meets Penny (Melissa), a needy lawyer. All seems quantifiably well with their blossoming relationship until his acrophobic* friend Roger (Paul) builds a prototype windowless apartment with fake sunshine that drives the test family insane--infuriating boss Mr. Walliver (Bryce). Walliver forces Keith to fire his own friend from the Scandinavian Super Store. And adding fuel to the blaze: Penny reveals to him that she can cook chicken with her bare hands using her powers as Phoenix. Roger (as Napoleon) plots revenge on Keith and company, killing Mr. Walliver, and trapping Keith, Phoenix, and sidekick Rachel "The Ornithologist" (Mandy) at Waterloo beneath the sea... will Keith learn to trust his heroine girlfriend before it's too late for everyone?

    *Acrophobia: fear of heights

  • Bears Gone Berserk - Saturday, April 9, 2011 - 8pm

    Young Henry (Michael) led a peaceful life -- until puberty, when strange forces began to amass in him that he couldn't control. A gentle pat on the back accidentally kills his grandma, and he flees to New York to live with Dad -- who, unbeknownst to Henry, is a crime kingpin known as The Chieftain (Bryce). When the Chieftain ends up in jail, Henry channels his own strength under the tutelage of capricious housekeeper Ms. Horne (Susan), and becomes The Grizzly. He drafts a sidekick, ex-bicycle messenger The Cub (Aaron), and builds an empire of crime-fighting, pursuing Good to offset his father's Evil. He even tries to woo his father's efficient ex-secretary, Albert (Greg). But the Grizzly -- and his father -- both have ancient Berserker blood running through their veins, and though The Chieftain knew when to stop, his son had gone too far. Though The Grizzly foiled his own father's evil plot, he'd already given in to his powers and jumped over the edge . . . where indeed is the line between good and evil?

  • Let Him Eat Cake - Thursday, April 14, 2011 - 8pm

    Daniel (Michael) is a sincere, dedicated lawyer, just trying to succeed -- but a  motley pair of clients change his life forever: spunky stable owner Millicent Miller (Merrill), and the enigmatic Count Crepescul (Greg) -- who hires Daniel to help him regain his ancestral Romanian (Transylvanian) home (castle) for just one night. When Daniel makes partner, his manipulative co-worker Deirdre (Mandy) sinks her marriage claws into him, but he realizes that he's really in love with Millicent (aka superhero The Chaser). His betrayal sparks Deirdre's vengance, and she -- as The Decorator -- turns her hobby into a gruesome power: henchman Rosemary (Amber) develops a cake-powered mind-destroying device. The culmination involves a Romanian castle gala, the torturing of a sidekick, the fight between a woman in love and a woman scorned, and a simply massive cake.

  • Love Will Tear Us Apart - Friday, April 15, 2011 - 8pm

    This is sibling rivalry at its most epic. Marie (Merrill) had to raise her two sisters, becoming anxious and uptight by necessity -- but Jane (Melissa) just wants to be LEFT ALONE. Marie sails through academics and goes to grad school, while Jane flounders, sulks, and eventually runs away. In school, Marie meets Barry (Alex) (hippie superhero Stinky Cave), who teaches her about love and loosening up. Meanwhile, scrounging for cash leads Jane to undergo some shady medical experiments, which turn her into The Matador -- with powers to unbind the very proteins of life from one another. Marie pursues her beloved sister, but Jane keeps retreating, disintegrating everything and everyONE in her way, until she has nowhere to run. Her grand gesture, to set all the city's molecules free from each other, means a hydrogen bomb in an abandoned amusement park. Will the city be safe? Will Marie learn to let go? Or will her love help her to make the ultimate sacrifice?

  • Behind the Mask - Saturday, April 16, 2011 - 8pm

    It was only natural that Robert Copman's (Clay) boyhood love of costumes would lead to a career in the theater, but no one could have guessed that it would also lead to his taking the law into his own hands as the Master of Disguise! With his childhood friend Lila (Merrill) by his side and guided by the hard-won wisdom of the curmudgeonly Mr. Arnold (Paul), Robert gains the courage to use his gifts to stand up against the crime all around him. But nothing could have prepared him for the discovery that the serial killer collecting people's body parts is none other than Frank (Aaron), his old acquaintance... and that Frank's final target is the beating heart of Samantha Madrigal (Melissa), the prickly theatrical agent whom Robert secretly loves.  Can he find her in time, or will he fail at the most important role of his life?

  • Trapped in the Middle With You - Thursday, April 21, 2011 - 8pm

    Jack (Paul), groomed by overbearing, wealthy parents, just wants to please everyone -- but finds himself trapped between two worlds. He's doing useful work interning for a rather overzealous ratcatcher (Merrill) and her helper (Clay). But his mysterious governess Martine (Susan) goads him into a second job: assistant to superhero Nirvana (Alex). Jack does such a good job that Nirvana takes a vacation, leaving him with quivering sidekick Mouse (Michael). But The Trapper's extermination plans involve more than just rats, and Jack discovers that the mousetraps he's been setting are actually explosives, set to re-trigger a dormant volcano beneath the city. The Trapper wants to wipe clean the blighted urban landscape, and start a beautiful new Eden -- with Jack as her Adam. Jack's been playing at being a hero -- can he wield the cape for real, disarm The Trapper, and save the day?

  • Adventure Time - Friday, April 22, 2011 - 8pm

    Indecisive Martin (Paul) is forced to go to Adventure Camp by his concerned parents, who want him to be more...adventurous. His best friend, jock boy-next-door Raven (Michael), joins him, and they befriend daredevil Lisa (Mandy). Lost in the woods while hiding from increasingly risky antics, he meets mysterious dog-fashion lover Lucinda Fields (Amber), who advises him, "Don't let anyone else tell you what you're good at." Several years later, Martin's couch-surfing in Raven's Manhattan apartment. Their downstairs neighbor, grouchy recluse Mr. Williams (Bryce), is secretly developing a light-up mecha-suit ("Glitterati") to fight corrupt city politicians. Martin ends up helping Mr. Williams perfect his suit, and is drafted as sidekick Killshot, but has no idea that his old friend Lisa (The Magician) is viciously clawing her way up in city politics. When they meet, their bungee-jumping "date" leads to a terrible accident. Losing his arm only gives Martin the courage to stand up to insane Lisa, declare his love for Raven, and stop a river of lava from destroying the Empire State Building -- all at the same time.

  • Dial S for Sand - Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 8pm

    Lisa (Amber), later Sandstorm, had a difficult childhood: Mom is a psychotic neat freak: awkward when one's anxiety summons a sandstorm. And it doesn't help that Dad (Aaron) always liked sister Candace (Melissa) best. Lisa finds hope in college, bonding with enigmatic film professor Mr. Rasmussen (Greg), who teaches her to think critically by imagining the perfect crime. Meanwhile, one of Lisa's storms accidentally kills her mother. But working for the IRS, her life takes a turn for the better: she meets the love of her life -- John (Clay) -- during an audit. John casually jokes that someday the world will be his; Sandstorm takes this too much to heart and tries to destroy NYC in her efforts to give him the world. John's Pollyanna-ish sister Gloria, aka mind-controlling heroine Svengali, and sidekick Candace -- now Triton -- try to stop the coming sandstorm... will love conquer all? And will a certain professor succeed in planning HIS perfect crime?

  • Till the Stars Burn Out and the Moon Goes Home - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - 8pm

    Sometime in 1950s America, young Skip (Aaron) has looked 15 years old his whole life. Protective single dad (Bryce) gave up his own career in the army to hide his son. But Skip wants to become a man, and wins a contest to be a sidekick to Action Joe Clarksville (Clay). Yet in the shadow of communism, there's a lot more going on: everyone wants a piece of the boy who never grew up. Turns out Skip's agelessness is a secret army supersoldier project. Why exactly is Action Joe building a youth army of "sidekicks," and what's beneath that mountain in Clarksville, CO? And why are the evil Daisy Jones (Amber) and SleepyJean (Mandy) so intent on sabotaging the train there? Will Skip ever learn to grow up -- in time to save the world?

  • Liberté, Egalité, Meurtrier: A Snuff Opera - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - 8pm

    (Guys Night)

    Talented opera singer Daniel Rothgar (Michael) is thrilled to be given an exclusive spot in the Metropolitan Opera under avant-garde artistic director Jean (Greg). He finds himself strongly drawn to the Met's long-time tech director, Allan (Bryce) and a cynical New York Times critic (Alex), who provide a welcome balance to Jean's increasingly bizarre and dangerous artistic visions. When Jean has an epiphany and moves from dictator to leader of a literal artistic revolution, it's up to Allan, aka The Postman; his loyal scene shop assistant Chuck (Paul); and Daniel to stop him. Will he succeed in executing an Enemy of the People onstage, for REAL? In front of a live audience?

  • Know When To Duck - Saturday, April 30, 2011 - 8pm

    (Girls Night)

    Darla (Merrill) dreamed of a life riding horses, and when she came to join the Rodeo cast at Whistlestop Ranch, she thought those dreams had come true. But horses were just the beginning. Her heroine, trick rider/shooter Andrea (Melissa), aka Silent Streak, is the sole member of the Francini family left alive after a mysterious accident during the show. And Darla's attractive new boss Beth/Zeta (Susan) seems nice enough, but inclined to fits of temper -- and she's in trouble with the SPCA. It seems Zeta, former child star, is a little jealous of Andrea and her famous family . . . When Darla succumbs to Zeta's mind control and vanishes, it's a mad tour across Europe to rescue Darla, defeat Zeta, and maybe, just maybe, put a family back together.

  • Love in the Time of Podcasts - Thursday, May 5, 2011 - 8pm

    Lydia just wants to be loved. But with her miserable childhood at a Romanian orphanage, 'love' is beyond her. She's devoted her life to humanitarian aid, but the kind that requires arson and grand larceny. She finds a kindred spirit in fellow expat, Oscar (Paul); buoyed by new self-worth, she begins to blog under the pen name "The Black Spectre," attracting thousands of fans. She even finds herself the subject of heroic marble statues by renowned sculptor, Jonas (Clay). But Lydia mistakes Jonas' professional attention for romantic interest; her agony upon learning his true feelings sends her spiraling into violent obsession, and towards a terrifying showdown. Can her ex-boss, superhero-aristocrat The Noble Hedgehog (Aaron), andhis honest-to-a-fault sidekick Switchblade (Michael), stop the Black Spectre's terrifying spree of charitable giving? Can they save Jonas? And can Lydia ever know a love that is free of fear?

  • The Electric Specter - Friday, May 6, 2011 - 8pm

    Electrical genius Nicolai Tesla Gregorovich (Greg) has a dream... to bring the wonder of Alternating Current to the world. To bring light where there is shadow and to drive out the darkness of superstition. But he finds himself at odds with Storm Maiden (Merrill), who uses the powers of weather to communicate with the spirit world. Nicolai's beliefs are challenged when he is confronted by the specter of his father, Gregor (Bryce), who believes his son is a failure, unable to resolve the conflicts between spirit and science. Nicolai faces a difficult choice: accept his father's theories and risk the safety of the world, or trap his father forever in a nameless void to keep us safe, thwarting his dreams of an AC revolution.

  • A Family Affair - Thursday, May 12, 2011 - 8pm

    Devoted father Josh Daedalus (Aaron) works hard to hold down the fort and raise his gifted daughter Betsy (Amber), while his ambitious, thrill-seeking wife Matilda (Mandy), under the Vigilante Empowerment Act of 2012 spends her days and nights fighting crime. When Betsy begins to attend the School for the Truly Gifted under willful, charismatic 134-year-old principal Sir Edmund Hillary (Greg), Josh begins to fear that he will lose his daughter - and his wife - forever. With the help of licensed superhero Seer (Michael) and his sidekick Manta (Paul), he tries to make a decision that will save both his family and his city - with disastrous results...

  • Dance With the Demon - Friday, May 13, 2011 - 8pm

    The Big City is one big, seething cesspool of humanity and it's a tooth-and-nail struggle just to keep from going under.  Live in the city long enough and you'll be willing to do just about anything to escape the rat race. Edmund (Bryce) is a mid-level bureaucrat who wants to be the man at the top; he makes a range of infernal pacts in exchange for power and influence.  Joan (Amber) is a dancer who wants to revolutionize the artform: She'll let a demon possess her body if it gives the skills and the savvy she needs to do it.  And then there's Tony (Alex): just an ordinary nobody who wants to be an extraordinary Somebody. In a city who's population is in constant need of some solace, Tony finds a fast track to money and respect when he starts dealing drugs.  When Tony begins heroin supplying heroin to Joan's kid-brother Chad (Aaron), he finds himself a pawn in Edmund's (now "The Administrator") ghastly plan: to unleash the demons of Hell on the city's population.  Now, before The Administrator's Gambit reaches it's terrifying endgame, the enigmatic archangel Samael (Mia) must help Tony recover his compassion since he is the only hope for saving the city and the world.

  • The Phoenix Rises - Saturday, May 14, 2011 - 8pm

Director's Notes

 

A little over a year ago, after a performance of Un-Scripted: unscripted, we were talking about how much we both wanted to do a superhero-based long-form show. Something based in the world of comic books and graphic novels that wouldn't revolve around powers or special effects. Something that would tell meaningful, character-based stories about the lives that orbit in the universes where superheroes hang out.

What has evolved out of that post-show conversation is so much more than either of us imagined at the time.  As it was both of our first time directing for Un-Scripted, we knew we'd need a versatile group of actors who were up to the challenge of creating well-rounded, three-dimensional characters in a genre often populated by two-dimensional stereotypes. In the end, we were able to take this phenomenally talented cast and combine it with the strength and longevity of the Un-Scripted Theater Company (9 SEASONS!!) to create a show that we hope you will find as exciting and engaging as we do.

- Melissa Holman & Clay Robeson
Directors, Secret Identity Crisis

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