A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR: 

I was first introduced to the strange world of Dr. Horrible in the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of high school. A local theatre group had announced that they were putting on a production of it for students of high school age. Leading up to the auditions for that production, I watched the film for the very first time and instantly fell in love with it, and then proceeded to fall even more in love with it as a performer in that staged production.

Needless to say, when I was asked to direct this production, I was excited but also hesitant. Stepping in as a director for a musical that has already been cast can feel pretty daunting. It was remembering the love that I once had for this universe that the Whedons created that inspired me to take on this task. And about halfway through our first rehearsal, my hesitations were completely gone: this cast KICKS ASS and I was - and still am! - honored to be working with them.

With a show as campy and colorful as this, it can be easy to take the characters themselves at face value. Billy (Dr. Horrible) wants to gain notoriety and get the girl. Captain Hammer thrives in the attention he receives from the city around him. Penny just wants to help those less fortunate than she is. However, each of these characters have extremely similar deep-rooted insecurities, and at the end of the day, the commonality between them is that they all want the type of love that they don't receive in their personal lives. Billy wants to be seen and heard. Hammer wants a more intimate love than he receives from his adoring fanbase. Penny longs for a community of her own. In the words of Penny herself, "Sometimes people are layered like that. There's something totally different underneath than what's on the surface." I encourage you to look for the layers of every character that you see on stage this evening.

The desires of each of these characters are deeply personal for me, both as a queer person and a person living on the autism spectrum. I frequently struggle with communication and emotional processing, and often feel as if I do not belong to any sort of community; I'm either too loud or too quiet, too awkward, not interesting enough, etc. These are deep-rooted anxieties that I deal with, and while I wouldn't go to the same lengths as Billy to achieve that feeling, I can understand his longing to be recognized and Penny's desire to have a home and a place where she feels wanted. Being able to see bits of myself in these characters has made this experience all the more meaningful.

It is also important to note that Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a product of the last Writers Guild of America strike, which lasted from November 5th, 2007 to February 12th, 2008. While the 2023 Writers Guild strike is now over, the American actors' union (SAG-AFTRA) strike is still ongoing. As actors, producers, musicians, directors, and theatre-lovers, we stand in solidarity with the strikers and are thrilled to be able to perform this specific production during this unstable time for the entertainment industry. 

Thank you to the Whedon brothers for creating this beautiful world of Dr. Horrible. Thank you to the Betka-Popes for allowing me to fall in love with this show again, this time with an entirely new perspective. Thank you to Kay Felty, Matty Owen, and EmC Cipriano for coming along on this crazy journey that is my mind. Thank you to the cast for your time, talents, and vulnerability. And thank YOU, reader, for being here, and for your ongoing support of local theatre, music, art, and artists. I leave you with one more quote from Penny: "Even in the darkness, every color can be found."

-Lilleigh Christopher