In the last season finale of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Charlie wrote a musical to impress the love of his life — even though she hates his guts. Once his friends from the bar found out, they throw their inexperience as actors to the wind, and demand to star in it…
If you’d ever seen the show, you kind of knew how the musical would play out: the egos shot off the charts; the music was creepy; and the characters’ performances were laughably bad. Oh, and when it was over, Charlie’s beau loathed him more than ever.
Last Friday, in an attempt to give fans a little something in between seasons, the cast performed The Nightman Cometh live at The Troubadour. They replicated everything from the episode, right down to the did-a-second-grader-paint-that? set. The fans turned out with a force. I knew the show had a strong, cult-ish following, but these folks were serious about their Sunny. The packed house chanted before the show started, roared when Danny Devito took the stage, and shouted along to the chorus of the musical’s signature song (“Day Man, uhh-ahhahh!”).
The Nightman Cometh gets its title from an earlier episode of the show, when Charlie and Dennis start a band, and write a song about a sexy, demon-like creature who torments Charlie in his sleep. He’s defeated by The Day Man, a “master of karate and friendship.” (Yes, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds). The cast reprised their roles as The Nightman, The Day Man, a Princess(?), and an Evil Troll, played by Devito, the only famous actor in the cast, who thankfully never lets a little fame interfere with the absurd things he has to do on the show. Predictably, everyone was funny. The lines and songs I loved from the episode played well live. However, when the show started, it took me a minute to adjust. Save for one new song, they were re-recreating, line for line, everything I’d already seen on TV. Ultimately, though, I didn’t care. The cast seemed excited to be there, and the crowd was clearly into it.
B. Soika
Tags: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Troubadour
