"Jurassic Park: The Musical"
Planet Ant Theatre
Hamtramck, Mich.
May 8, 2026
I consider myself a mild “Jurassic Park” fan. I saw the film as a child when it came out in theaters. I think I’ve seen at least one sequel. I have a newfound appreciation for the movie after seeing “Jurassic Park: The Musical” at Planet Ant Theatre, which returned this spring after its 2025 debut.
The show, directed and co-created by Nuverre Naami, is a musical parody of the 1993 film. It exaggerates its personalities and plot holes while inserting modern social commentary, but with a loving touch from those who are clearly superfans. The creative team includes writers Naami, RJ Cach, Courtney Kamen, Katie McGraw and Caitlyn Shea with music by John Duffy, Jen Horne and Adam Mercer.
For those in need of a refresh: “Jurassic Park” is a cautionary tale of selfish risk and greed gone badly. Elderly billionaire John Hammond has managed to bring dinosaurs back to life and has created the park as a money-making tourist destination. The story follows him inviting a select group of researchers on a preview tour, joined by his grandkids. Things go awry, the dinosaurs escape from their fences, and the characters must fight for survival as they attempt to flee the island to safety.
The cast features all the main characters, with costumes, wigs and mannerisms that bring the distinct '90s cast to the stage – sometimes joined by sequined, tap- dancing dinosaurs. With full-on white facial hair and the ambered-mosquito cane, Naami herself plays Hammond, leaning into his toxic and sociopathic nature hidden beneath his charisma. She protrays him as a greedy, sexist, MAGA billionaire, who blames immigrants when his pet project goes wrong. Her happy blackout dances between numbers are endearing.
Horne plays Ellie Sattler, a baby-crazed paleobotanist who is never taken seriously by her fellow male scientists, often needing a man to repeat her exact same words to be understood. Shea is paleontologist Alan Grant, Ellie’s baby-hesitant partner and careless caretaker of the grandkids. Cach plays the hyper-sexed chaotician Ian Malcolm, who turns everything into an innuendo. Jake Russell plays the one of the story’s few African American characters and is the first dinosaur victim, with dialogue highlighting Hollywood’s tendency to kill off Black characters first.
Courtney Kamen, Mary Consiglio, Mario Cadwell, Brendan McCarthy, Caitlyn Shea, and Will Shulak round out the rest of the stellar cast as the grandkids, dinosaurs and minor characters.
The book is smart and dense with film and pop culture references – so many you’d likely need multiple viewings of the show to catch them all. It offers poignant modern political commentary that particularly highlights sexism against women in science and the dangers of selfish, unchecked billionaires. Toward the end of the show, Ellie predicts a future where, surely, people respect science, and billionaires don’t abuse their power – yielding a sad laugh from us all.
The music is catchy, with musical direction by Horne and choreography by Courtney Kamen that references iconic pop culture dance moves. The ensemble opening number, my favorite,included the side-to-side steps from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, emphasizing the claw-like nature of the hands. The sequined trio of dino divas referenced Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” moves. The first two numbers – as much as I enjoyed them – ran a tad long, but I would have loved to have seen more of the sequined dinosaurs. The sad T Rex song and disturbing inter-species love duet were also highlights, though I found the cigarette number a distraction from the story.
“Jurassic Park: The Musical” was packed with smart humor and charming musical numbers. I’m snobbish about comedy and laughed heartily throughout the performance, and I’m sure those more familiar with the film laughed even harder. This creative team made something special, evident by sold-out performances ; I look forward to what they come up with next.
