Original Off-Broadway Cast, 2024 (Yellow Sound Label) (4.5 / 5) Michael R. Jackson has quickly become the prince of telling unlikely stories on stage, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that his unlikeliest project yet is highly successful. Teeth, based on the cult classic film of the same title, is all about Dawn O’Keefe, stepdaughter of an ultra-religious pastor and leader of the virginal “Promise Keeper Girls.” Only her geeky stepbrother, Brad, knows her secret: Dawn has a set of teeth inside her vagina that will bite off the extremities of men who violate her. Brad found this out when he put his finger in as a child, but soon, Dawn’s boyfriend and an evil gynecologist discover her power the hard way — no pun intended. After those two involuntary attacks, Dawn learns that she has a condition known as “vagina dentata.” She also learns to use her power against her friend Ryan, who non-consensually tapes their sexual encounter; against her pastor stepfather; and finally, in a Little Shop-esque finale, against all evil men in the world. That the plot is so unusual makes it all the more impressive how smoothly and intelligently Jackson’s lyrics tell the tale. Some of his turns of phrase are extremely clever: “To keep from getting routine and banal with girls like you / I just go spelunking in the birth canal with girls like you” is a particular gem. Anna K. Jacobs’ music is expressive and appropriately lurid, even if the orchestrations here are overblown. At the center of the show, Alyse Alan Louis as Dawn is that rare phenomenon, a supernova talent with a truly unique vocal quality and presence. If there’s a more achingly real expression of desire than her performance of “Shame in My Body,” this reviewer has yet to hear it. Steven Pasquale, in the dual role of the pastor and the gynecologist, has a field day with the delightfully vulgar pastiche “Girls Like You,” and Jason Gotay as Tobey runs the gamut from nicely restrained in “Modest is Hottest” to downright threatening in “When She Gave Birth” (a musical highlight). If Teeth is a difficult show to pitch in an elevator, it’s a remarkably easy one to be amused, thrilled, and challenged by. — Charles Kirsch