Handyman Hal Live Show - Charmingly Amateur
My wife bought tickets for my son to see Handyman Hal live, since he was a fan of the character (I'd weaned him off of Blippi by repeatedly "accidentally" switching to Handyman Hal and then misplacing the remote). The show was... interesting. Since we usually watch very random characters, I don't know which of them were supposed to be commonly recurring ones, but in general, it feels like a lot of people take advantage of Hal and his good nature ($80 car washes? A $25 bolt?) but nothing ran terribly long. Then, there was the production.
There were no big set pieces. The choreography was simple. Things like Hal driving a tractor on-stage visibly showed him pushing it forward with one foot. It felt a bit like it could have been a community theatre production. Which, honestly, suits the character, although it also made me think about how much the tickets cost compared to what we got. My kid loved it, though, which makes it all worthwhile.
Ultimately, it does make me wonder where the character of Handyman Hal ends, and the actor of Shawn Goins begins. My understanding was that he made up the character during the pandemic, and that it's not far from his regular persona as a youth pastor, although I'm sure it's a bit exaggerated. Not like Earnest P. Worrell where Jim Varney was a trained stage actor who just happened to find a goofy character that went over well, and stuck with it.
Anyone else seen the stage show, and have thoughts?