Review: “Koalas Are Dicks”

A raunchy dark comedy starring a misunderstood marsupial, this is a merciless satire on the entertainment industry.  

According to Koalas Are Dicks by Larry Phillips, everybody in Hollywood is an animal driven by instincts to mate, indulge in vice and make shit load of money. Not unlike the Netflix BoJack Horseman, this dark comedy stars a depressed animal that has had enough but finds it difficult to break away. A beloved sitcom star, koala Brody (Peter Buck Dettmann) goes down the spiral of substance abuse and meaningless sex with humans to escape the TV world, where he is treated like a prop and not as a creative individual.   

The cast of Koalas are Dicks. Photo by Zoe Lintzeris

Brody flees his widely popular show just 12 episodes before it goes to syndication and locks himself in a shady motel just outside of LAX. A run down room, designed by Meg McGuigan, is abundantly littered with bottles, bags of cocaine and piles of clothes. And even though we don’t see the puddles of booze and bodily fluids on the floor to which everybody refers, we can easily imagine those.

Brody’s manager, Ross (Patrick T. Horn), rushes to the rescue of the spoiled TV star and his own career. Alongside his client, Ross finds his one-man entourage, an ex- child star Davey (Larry Phillips) and incapable koala wrangler Hannah (Tiffany Mae McRae), both giving up trying to control the animal gone wild. Soon enough, Brody’s co-star, a name-dropping British actress, Allison (Phoebe Leonard) shows up uninvited, followed by the hooker Shea (Griffin Hennelly), much anticipated but not of the desired gender.   

With the human zoo in full attendance, they each try to manipulate the marsupial to serve their own goals. Nobody on stage can understand what Brody is saying yet they manage to maintain a meaningful dialogue with him. A lot of jokes revolve around the fact that humans misinterpret the koala’s body language and continue to pursue their own agenda while pretending to be attentive to his “opinions”. But what is the point in listening until the end of the sentence if you don’t speak “Koala”? Most of the characters are too self-indulged to even pretend they care, so that seems a little wobbly in the otherwise solid and well-structured play. But I guess in a world where koalas shoot up and can impregnate humans, they can’t be discarded that easily, especially if they are filthy rich.     

The raunchy humor of Phillips’ writing is matched by the dynamic direction of Ben Liebert, giving a fine cast many opportunities to become physical. Koalas Are Dicks is a delight for those who are into rough adult humor with a hint of the absurd, especially if they despise show business. The unexpected ending is truly rewarding and brings the one-note sitcom tone of the play to a new dramatic level.

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Koalas Are Dicks plays at Theatre 80 St. Marks, 80 St Marks Pl, through February 24th, 2018. The running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7. Tickets are $32, and are available at randomlyspecifictheatre.com.

Koalas Are Dicks  is by Larry Phillips. Directed by Ben Liebert. It is produced by Randomly Specific Theater. Scenic Design is by Meg McGuigan. Lighting Design is by Erik Fox.

The cast is Griffin Hennelly, Patrick T. Horn, Peter Buck Dettmann, Tiffany Mae McRae, Larry Phillips and Phoebe Leonard.