Maskull is an average 21st century guy, a little snarky and cynical, wondering what the point of life is. His friend Serra brings him to see a quack fortune teller, but the festivities are disrupted by the enigmatic Krag, who boasts that he can show Maskull the true meaning of life. Krag and Serra drop Maskull on the alien world of Arcturus and watch from the wings as the young man has a series of adventures with its eccentric inhabitants.
Someone recommended the book when I was a teenager, but I didn't like it. What I remember (going on vague 30+-year-old memories) is that a plot was difficult to discern, I didn't care about the characters, and I hated the ending. I didn't know how it could even work on the stage -- let alone as a musical -- so I clicked the video out of morbid curiosity.
The immediate thing that I discovered is that the sound mix is bad. The music frequently overwhelms the vocals, which is a kiss of death in a musical. But I was watching on Tubi, which includes accurate subtitles, so I decided to stick with it, and I'm glad I did. Not all of the songs are as difficult to comprehend as the openers, the music itself isn't bad, and the lyrics range from clever to downright profound.
As for the rest of the writing, I cared about the characters this time. Might chalk part of that up to the performances, but everyone seemed interesting and engaging, and there are lots of odd supernatural goings-on (conjurings, enchantments, a guy literally becoming a tree). The story is weighty and dramatic, but there are appropriate moments of levity scattered throughout, usually in the form of wisecracks uttered by Maskull and Krag. And I'm pretty sure the ending was both changed and improved.
Tom Kelly made a perfect leading man, able to be both strong and vulnerable, and Phil Moore was commanding as Krag. Due to the low-budget nature and the extensive roster of characters who briefly appear, most of the cast members play multiple roles. That's not a hindrance since there wasn't a weak link in the chain.
It's a shame that the sound issues will instantly alienate a lot of viewers, because this is a powerful piece of work, and I hope something else comes of it. It could absolutely work off-Broadway, or it could be an engaging Ozsploitation cult movie.
