Nothing says mindless summer entertainment like a good old Popcorn movie. Now, add live actors, encouragement to toss said buttery foodstuff along with your own cheeky bon mots, and you have got something even more delicious. Pocket Sandwich Theatre multiplies the fun factor in their goofy and galloping production of Chris Irby and Sean Freeman’s The Final Adventures of Hercules.

Playwrights Freeman and Irby have put together a spoofing melodrama that riffs (very loosely) on the myth of Greek demigod Hercules. It’s a winking sitcom-clever take on a classic tale mixed with Mystery Science Theater 3000 sensibilities, and it works for the most part.

;Producer and director Dennis G.W. Millegan keeps this bouncy trireme afloat with some nifty staging, a pleasant pace (except for the interminable double intermissions for beverages and popcorn ammunition refills), and strong, exuberant ensemble performances from his actors. Andrew Dillon as Hercules is a bit undersized (part of the “joke?”), but he has the perfect hair and beard for the aging hero whom he plays as the straight man amid all of the comedic chaos. His rubber-faced cohort, Lolaus (Daniel Tiner) summons his best Evil Dead Bruce Campbell for much merriment. Emily Henderson as Asteria, the fetching, yet tough Amazon in the mold of Xena the warrior princess transcends what could have been just a cheesecake in a short skirt role.

The Weird Sisters of Anorexia, Euthanasia, and Dyslexia (Valerie R. Horna, Jocelyn Everett (great as the Oracle too), and Jennifer Stoneking) conjure up a big bucket of bizarre goodness, especially saltine maven Everett, and Iota Phone fiend Stoneking. Trista Wyly as Milfodite, the vampy villainess with a trilling, ululating laugh chews the scenery with evil delight. Her ambitious son, Antagones (Eric Dobbins) produces boo-worthy (in a good way) sneers and scowls. Costumes by Christina McGowan and Jeff Vance hit all of the traditional high notes, are well-tailored, and bespeak a quality far beyond their budget. And hats off to piano player and incidental music composer George Gagliardi who inhabits an extra role of sorts beyond his musical one.

Yes, the play teeters on the edge of being a tedious travelogue at times, and unfunny audience “participation” drowns out some of the best bits of dialogue. However, the cast is more than game in their judicious choosing of when to engage, and they turn catcalls and taunts into improvisational gold.  All in all, it’s a sandal-tapping, sing-along, raucous good time for those in on the joke, and for those just along for the chariot ride.

Images courtesy of Pocket Sandwich Theater