There is way too much Star Wars content being created these days for even a hard-core fan like myself to keep up with, so if you’ve missed out on The Mandalorian and its many spinoffs on Disney+, you might be hoping that “The Mando-larody” might help you catch up while having a few laughs. The good news is that writer Michael Knight and director/designer Travis Eaton have effectively condensed multiple seasons (minus any Luke Skywalker cameos) down to 70 minutes; the bad news is that you may exit wanting half of that time back.
Things start out strongly with a sharply written opening crawl (narrated by Eaton) that introduces the absurdly intricate backstory with a flashback to the Siege of Mandalore from Clone Wars, before morphing into a slow-motion karaoke of “Glory of Love” sung by the Armorer (Cassie Klinga). From there, they re-create the initial encounter between titular bounty hunter (fight director Bill Warriner) and Grogu (costumer Stephanie Viegas) — better known as Baby Yoda — then sprint through an abbreviated accounting of their adventures avoiding big baddie Moff Gideon (Jamal Solomon, understudy Arius West at the press preview).
On the plus side, “The Mando-larody” does a more succinct job of explaining Emperor Palpatine’s midichlorian cloning conspiracy than Rise of Skywalker and Bad Batch put together, and there is some incisive commentary about contemporary parallels between the Empire and America’s neo-Confederates, as well as self-deprecating jabs at their minimalist budget. However, much of the dialogue involves shouty arguments about poorly conceived plot devices, or merchandising jokes that Mel Brooks made a generation ago. The script wants to have it both ways, mocking incels for freaking out over female inclusion while also railing on Rian Johnson for fucking with the Force. Much like the television series, this story loses much of its steam once Boba Fett (Jonathan Barreto) arrives around the halfway mark, limping along for an additional half-hour until a dance-battle finale.
The musical numbers — set to ’80s hits by the Muppets, Michael Jackson and Oingo Boingo, among others, with pitchy harmonies and zero updates to the original lyrics — do little to move the plot forward and feel increasingly shoehorned in, although a “Mad World” dream ballet is bizarrely compelling. While “The Mando-larody” starts out energetic enough (if a bit sloppy), it never generates the spark every good spoof requires, and eventually sputters out in a literal onstage Rickroll. On the bright side, the cast is now all set for kick-ass cosplay at next year’s Megacon.
Orlando Fringe: Times and tickets for “The Mando-larody”
Orlando Family Stage
This article appears in May 8-14, 2024.