DIGESTION! THE MUSICAL

Will sweet, nutty Li’l Candy’s plunge to stardom prove transformational? Every time.

On a dark stage lit by neon bright flashes of dazzle and dominated by a towering, cutaway human body, a round, pink ingénue takes a leap of faith to the Broadway rhythms of a chorus of little carrots: “Past the teeth now! Past the tongue now! Past the palate to the pharynx! She could end up in the lung now if she blunders down the larynx. Or go higher in the head instead and come back out the nose! But she slides down the esophagus, where all the foodstuff goes.” Proving along the way that she’s not just empty calories but has a nutritional heart of gold—or, more precisely, peanut—and pausing only for the occasional production number (“My name’s Platelet! / If you’re hurtin’ / I make plugs to stop / the spurtin’!”), she, or her remains, arrive at last in the large intestine just in time for the big finale. “LET’S. GET. THIS. POTTY. STARTED. / EVERYBODY PANTS DOWN….” Taking a cue from Maris Wicks’ sensational Human Body Theater (2015), this showstopper gives the purposes and processes of digestion the lavish, glitzy production they deserve, from teeth to toilet. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

As “gross and amazing” as its topic, certain to receive thunderous ovations—standing or otherwise.