Khan!!! The Musical! A Parody Trek-Tacular by Brent Black and Alina Roth, now entering its final weekend at Dell’Arte’s Carlo Theatre, is exactly as described in the title and every bit as fun as it sounds. I had assumed the Venn diagram of Trekkies and musical theater fans was two nearly separate circles, but the intersection is bigger than I had imagined. If that’s where your tastes converge then this is the musical for you.
The concept is delightful: The android Data (William English III) from Star Trek: The Next Generation has created a project in pursuit of his ongoing objective of understanding human behavior. He had been studying “historical” Earth musicals of the 20th and 21st centuries. To encapsulate his learning, he wrote a musical of his own depicting the “historical” events when Khan (Virgo Marroquin), an augmented human, sought revenge on Adm. James T. Kirk (River Keller). All the “historical” figures in that era of the Star Trek universe are represented. Spock (Filip Amorski) is captain of the USS Enterprise. Officers Sulu (Lyn Trischum), Uhura (Samahri Jordan) and Scotty (Andrè Vallìn) are on board, as well as the crotchety ship’s doctor Bones (Karen Echegaray). Adm. Kirk is on board as a guest for the training mission the ship full of young Starfleet cadets is undertaking. Saavik (Meaghan Sharrard) is one of those bright, overeager cadets. Data has created his musical on a holodeck (augmented virtual reality), of which the audience is a part. This means that for the time you are enjoying the show, you are just part of a big simulation. Conspiracy theories aside, Data is not only the creator, but also narrator and actor in his musical masterpiece.
Star Trek is simultaneously culturally important and absurd. The original series explored deep socio-political questions within each episode, but it did so with William Shatner setting the tone. In similar fashion, this musical reminded us not to take it too seriously. It matches the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) faithfully, with many “in” jokes for Trekkies. The musical styling pays homage to many great musicals, like The Rocky Horror Show, and ramping up the camp inherent in Star Trek. OK, time for a disclaimer: I am woefully underexposed to musicals but I recognized that Marroquin plays a deliciously evil Khan in the manner of Frank-N-Furter. Many of the tunes are familiar, though I couldn’t place them, and at one point Spock wears a getup that reminded me of Liza Minelli (or maybe Columbia?). While many musical references surely flew over my head, I very much enjoyed the singing (Katie Folkenroth is music director) and choreography (Samahri Jordan) throughout. The voices are strong and the dancing tight. English especially performs acrobatic numbers. There is a lot going on in the small space of Carlo Theatre, but it’s not overwhelming. Directors Amborski and Keller use the space well and set a good pace. The Carlo Theater on the Dell’Arte International campus in Blue Lake is intimate with a steep rake. On one hand, you are very cozy with your neighbors. On the other, you are ensured excellent viewing from any seat, no matter who is in front of you or what hat they are wearing.
The set design by Monica Blacklock and her team is minimized for the small space. Every set piece has a place and a purpose, and there are great interpretations of Star Trek design. Likewise, the costumes by Jenna Santangelo convey the world setting well. I especially like how the (relative) simplicity of the Starfleet uniforms contrasts with Khan’s stranded-on-a-dessert-island-for-years-and-still-fab look. Shout out to the ensemble (Alanna Guevara, Lee Checa-Valdez, Monica Blacklock, Terrence Caballero) for keeping the space alive. Speaking of staying alive, there are a lot of red shirts on stage, but their survival rate is pretty high (though not 100 percent).
Khan!! The Musical continueson Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. through May 10 at Dell’Arte’s Carlo Theatre. Call(707) 668-5663 or visit dellarte.com.
Doranna Benker Gilkey (she/her) is a longtime Humboldt County resident and can often be found at her store Dandar’s Boardgames and Books in Arcata.
This article appears in Summer of Fun 2026.