John Hughes Your Own Adventure
Written by Joseph Garner, Chris “Mr.” Jones, Rob McLemore, Suki Peters, and Ben Ritchie
Directed by Suki Peters
Cherokee Street Theater Company
December 11, 2025
Cast of John Hughes Your Own Adventure
Photo by Robert Crowe
Cherokee Street Theatre Company
In the program for their rerun of Cherokee Street Theater Company’s STL Fringe Summer hit show, John Hughes Your Own Adventure, they refer to this as their “love letter to Gen X”. It’s confession time for me, then–I must not be a “typical” Gen Xer, because of all the films listed in the program as the basis for this parody, I’ve seen a grand total of two: The Breakfast Club and (I think) 16 Candles. I guess I’m not the prime target for this nostalgia-fest, although I do have great nostalgia for the Choose Your Own Adventure books, especially The Cave of Time. Still, even though I may not have seen all of these films, pop culture osmosis is real, and I’ve absorbed a lot of the references from my generation. My thought is that, if I think this show is a laugh riot (and I do), bigger fans of the films referenced are going to absolutely love it!
It’s certainly a cleverly constructed show, hosted by John Hughes himself, played with a bit of self-important glibness by Joseph Garner, and the mash-up of his films with the classic “pick your path” format of the book series is remarkably clever. Mr. Hughes sets out the rules, and the story plays out–starting in detention with the five kids from The Breakfast Club–Chris “Mr.” Jones as John Bender, Patience Davis as Allison, Ryan Lawson-Maeske as Andrew, Payton Gillam as Molly Ringwald, and Ted Drury as Anthony Michael Hall. The story starts out as in that situation, but there will be points in which music starts playing and the voice of Stan Davis on the “god mic” presents choices to the audience, who decide their preference through applause. Soon, what starts out as a Breakfast Club parody morphs into a conglomeration of many of John Hughes’s greatest hits, including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Weird Science, Home Alone, Uncle Buck, and more. It’s a frantic, fun-filled laugh-fest with clever staging, some fun sight gags (including a character being played by a cardboard cutout), and lots of quick changes.
The staging is crisp and fast-paced, although the look and feel is a little unpolished, which adds to the humor, and the cast is excellent, with great turns from all the players, with standouts including Garner as Hughes, Lawson-Maeske as Andrew and Ferris Bueller, Nicole Angeli as a variety of characters including Edie McClurg, Annie Potts, and Catherine O’Hara, Ben Ritchie as Vernon and others, Brennan Eller as Duckie and Joe Pesci, Rob McLemore as John Candy, and Soupy Allen David as Kevin McCallister. Everyone seems to be having a great time, and the pop culture references, including music from the times, and mentions of other films, are flying fast and furious. It’s a great ensemble all around, and the audience was having a great time when I saw it.
The costumes by Kayla Lindsey are a lot of fun, as well, with great work on sound by Jeffrey Roberts and sound by Bradley Rohlf, as well. The props are also a delight–with kudos to properties mistress Payton Gillam and properties team Stan Davis, Patience Davis, Soupy Allen David, and Abby Lampe.
Whether you have seen all of these films or not, there’s a lot to laugh about in this raucous comic send-up of all things John Hughes. There are two more chances to see it, so if you’re looking for a 1980’s nostalgia fest and a good laugh, I recommend checking this out.
Cherokee Street Theater Company, in partnership with STL Fringe, is presenting John Hughes Your Own Adventure at the Kranzberg Arts Center until December 14, 2025
