BIGFOOT! BRINGS DOWNTOWN
MUSICAL MISCHIEF UPTOWN

A raunchy, campy comedy with big laughs,
big fur, and a surprisingly sharp anti-capitalist bite

It’s not every day downtown theater energy comes uptown; when it does, it’s almost always sanitized and robbed of the charm and authenticity that made it so deliciously twisted in the first place.

Luckily, Bigfoot! at New York City Center makes no sacrifices with this massively funny (pun intended) splash of a musical, with book by late-night comedian Amber Ruffin and Kevin Sciretta. While premiering uptown, Bigfoot! carries all the energy of a raunchy good time at a show one would find further down the island.

Bigfoot! drops our audience in the small town of Muddirt (get ready for many, many on-the-nose names tonight), where small-town folks do small-town things like being nosey, being paranoid about outsiders, and needing a scapegoat for their problems—introduced by the clever eponymous opener.

Luckily for the town (and unluckily for our show’s namesake), Bigfoot (played by comedy Broadway pro Grey Henson) is the perfect scapegoat. He keeps to himself per his mother’s orders (an unrelentingly funny and talented Crystal Lucas-Perry), but he can’t stop himself from fixing random small-town problems (a broken fence, a flipped car). After a classic “I Want” song (“Day to Day”), Bigfoot instantly endears himself to us—just a big hairy misunderstood monster in need of community.

But funny songs aren’t enough to keep our hairy hero out of trouble. The mayor (played by SNL veteran Alex Moffat) has a huge plan with a local rich real estate developer (a mercurial Jade Jones) to build a water park in Muddirt. Naturally this plan will TOTALLY make the denizens of Muddirt richer and bring wealth to the town—definitely not to the developer or the mayor personally (that was sarcasm; this whole thing is a pretty obvious grift).

Throw in an electric ensemble of characters including a local lovestruck (and face-striking) doctor, an eccentric hunter, and quite a few other bit players courtesy of Jade, and you have a delightful evening of musical comedy. Ruffin employs almost every humorous tactic, from puns to non-sequiturs to physical comedy. In other words, Bigfoot! slaps—sometimes literally.

David Schmoll and Amber Ruffin’s score of 13 songs (lyrics by Amber) are heavy on the comedy and are performed superbly by the cast. What they lack in innovation, they more than make up for in punchlines and performance. Bigfoot! isn’t breaking any new ground here musically; it’s doubtful any of these songs will find their way into a developing musical theater star’s audition book. But that’s not the point when the songs deliver the laughs.

The scenic design by Tim Mackabee follows in the tradition of the golden age of musical theater with painted flats and forced perspective. Costume designer Ricky Reynoso brings Bigfoot to life with a head-to-toe furry bodysuit. Grey may be sweating under all that fur, but we wouldn’t know it based on his effortless performance. Other looks seen on stage include an eccentric survivalist hunter in camouflage and pelts, a slick business tycoon flashing gaudy rich leather garb, a clueless mayor in a vest and suit, and other townsfolk.

Campy, over the top, and utterly ridiculous, Bigfoot! follows in the tradition of hilarious musicals like Evil Dead or The Toxic Avenger. With an outstanding ratio of jokes per minute (at times almost every other line of dialogue gets a laugh), powerful singing voices, and strong anti-capitalist messaging—all woven together sagely by Ruffin and company. Pregame with a drink or two and don’t take it too seriously; it’s guaranteed that Bigfoot! will take itself less seriously than you do.

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photos by Marc J. Franklin

Bigfoot!
New York City Center Stage I
131 W 55th St, New York, NY
ends on April 26, 2026
for tickets, visit Bigfoot Musical

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