Show Review : Off Book: The Improvised Musical

It was a beautiful Wednesday night for Off Book: The Improvised Musical to bring their signature chaos and comedy fun to Cleveland’s own Globe Iron, performing to a packed house of eager improv fans. Hosted by the wildly talented duo Zach Reino and Jessica McKenna, the podcast has been delighting listeners since 2017 with fully improvised musicals that are as rhythmically rich as they are hilariously bizarre.

Each episode is a one-of-a-kind performance, with Zach and Jess inventing everything on the spot—characters, stories, and original songs—with the help of a guest. It’s a sort of Broadway musical meets a fever dream experience, all scored by the brilliant piano stylings of their longtime collaborator Scott Passarella, affectionately dubbed “King of Pianists, Pianist of Kings”.

The show has built a devoted following over the years, known for its absurd yet heartfelt stories, unforgettable musical numbers, and guests ranging from comedians like Paul F. Tompkins and Broadway stars such as Nicole Parker to prominent television actors like D’Arcy Carden. But while the podcast has toured and done live performances across the country, Cleveland doesn’t often get visits from improv acts of this caliber—so when Off Book came to town, the audience showed up ready.

What unfolded onstage was a glorious mess of Shakespearean drama, The Lion King lore, rambunctious twins, nautical nonsense, stampedes of bears and sharks, and time-traveling beverage shop owners—all loosely tied together under the title, Cruise Control: The Musical.

The show kicked off with the question:

“Do you guys like cruising? Do you guys like cruise control?”

On the surface, this is a random question, but nonetheless, a perfect launch into a surreal adventure aboard a mysterious ship in the Bermuda Triangle filled with animals. Co-captains (invited separately by enigmatic tea and coffee shop owners) try to maintain order while twin boys Berky and Jimothy challenge them to a game of “Stick in a Hoop” in an attempted mutiny.

After losing, Berky unleashes the ship’s zoo animals, setting off an escalating series of increasingly absurd events. Among them are time-traveling tea and coffee shopkeepers who eerily haunt the cruise ship’s passengers—only to later reveal themselves as the future versions of Berky and Jimothy. The chaos deepens with a bizarre “Shakespeare meets Simba” storyline, where The Lion King characters Simba and Scar team up to retire Mufasa without actually killing him, borrowing the “fake poison” trick from Romeo and Juliet.

“How much of Romeo and Juliet did you read?”

“Skimmed it,” Simba sheepishly admits.

From there, lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and even bears and sharks run wild as the ship devolves into beautiful chaos. The audience, drinking glasses aglow (a la light-up ice cubes – a Globe Iron cocktail signature), swayed along to stampedes and show-stopping ballads. At one point, the animals even vote on whether kings should have term limits, and democracy wins.

In the end, the shopkeepers disappear back into the time loop, Simba’s dad wakes up unharmed, and Scar flees to Tempest Island (naturally, “where nobody gets off”). The finale? A parody of ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ rebranded as “Can You Feel the Cruise Tonight”.

Zach and Jess ended the performance with an improvised “talkback,” hilariously fielding questions from the audience while pretending to be every member of the creative team. One memorable moment came when someone claiming to work for Disney asked about the royalty payments.

Jess shot back: “Are you paying Willy Shakes?”

Off Book entertained with a night of inspired absurdity, unexpected emotion, and top-tier musical improv. Cleveland may not see shows like this every day—but when they do, they show up loud and ready to laugh.

Here’s hoping Zach and Jess cruise back through town soon.