The Mirror Sphere: The Sworn Protector

Kirkatures—John Hirsch Mainstage

I had to double-check that this was a local production and not an import from Wisconsin, such was the amount of cheese on display. But that’s okay; they know it and at times even lean into it. On the surface a somewhat cliched fantasy epic done as a sung-through musical – the program name-checks Tolkien and Nintendo’s Zelda series as major influences – there’s more than a few hints that the winking nods to the audience aren’t just comic relief and that the whole thing is going somewhere rather post-modern. True to its genre, it’s the first of a planned series, so we don’t get to find out for sure just yet. Some of the vocal performances could have been more assured, and it’s always a bit tricky to hear unamplified singing in this venue when there’s any kind of accompaniment, but the songs came through well enough that I heard other audience members singing them on the way out.

Jeff Heikkinen