While I am not the most experimental of theatergoers I do enjoy seeing new original productions especially ones from local talent that I can hopefully nurture and support. Such is the opportunity at Great Hall Theatrics with their new original musical John Henry vs The Robot. While this production is not perfect it won me over with its creativity and heart.

The idea behind this comedy is quite clever. In practically a one-man show by Stephen Gashler (he is responsible for book, music, lyrics, producing, directing, and much more) he takes the classic folk hero John Henry and transports him to modern times where he confronts a Mach 21 robot a family has recently adopted. This is a smart take on the folktale because John Henry’s entire story is a tragic confrontation with steam powered machinery. He also creates an appealing counter-balance to the seemingly perfect robot character.

I know people think something has to be a musical to succeed, but I do think this story might have worked better as a straight play. The music didn’t add much to the overall message and without it we could have used the time to dive more into the themes and potentially problematic elements of an 1840s John Henry confronting a modern 2026. In this production John Henry is played by Dorsey Williams and he completely looks the part of the mythical figure. I also appreciate how physical a performance he gives. Several times he is thrown to the stage, which makes him seem all the more commanding when he rises back up to confront the robot.

Tiffany Davis plays Polly, the single Mom who takes John Henry in when her son Bobby finds him by the train tracks. Christopher Doubleday gives my favorite performance as the robot Mach 21. He is funny and gets that synthetic robot voice just right (also does a good Sean Connery imitation!) I also appreciate they kept the robot pretty likable. There really isn’t a villain in this piece.

A good comparison as far as the plot of this show would be the Thor movies over at Marvel. Basically there you have a character of mythological strength confronting modern culture and falling in love. They even both have hammers. Davis has the best singing voice of the cast and gets the best song of the night with “Multidimensional Mom” and “Against the Currents of Time.” Some of the other singing was not the strongest, but I’m inclined to be forgiving for a piece with so much originality.

The set is effective with 2 stories and a painted forest background that allows them to go from the different timelines without any scene changes. Most of the costumes fit the roles quite well except for a suitcoat they give John for his date with Polly that was so oversized I’m thinking it was intentional although the purpose behind that choice was lost on me. It was also quite warm in the Angelus Theatre making the experience more taxing than it might have otherwise been. The spotlight also seemed to wander across the stage and was a little messy.

I also think it is a bit of a mistake to have John Henry confront modern times and not address the race issue at all. I get this is a family comedy but a man like him would have all kinds of emotions and feelings especially when it comes to courting a white woman like Polly. I am sure it’s challenging writing about these themes but it feels disingenuous to not mention them at all.

That said, there is a lot of good here in this quirky little musical at Great Hall Theatrics. I can guarantee you this- you won’t see anything quite like it in Utah this year and there’s something to be said for that. John Henry vs the Robot playing through August 29th and tickets can be purchased here.

John Henry vs the Robot is created by Stephen Gashler and it is based on the classic folktale of John Henry which originated in the 1840s. He was known as the “steel-driving man” who confronts a steel drill and is driven to exhaustion. The actual man the legend was based on was born in 1848, and he did not actually die of exhaustion like the myth would have us believe. For more information on John Henry click here.

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