Nearly a decade ago, genius brothers Jon and Al Kaplan were able to take the outlandish version and shape it into an internet musical, which has grown and evolved over time (thanks to the book by Hunter Bell) and collected a series of awards. Like the recent Jersey Shoresical at The Hayworth Theatre, Silence! is a musical based on TV/Film pop culture, where the latter has the luxury of a premade plotline. The Kaplans rip memorable dialogue and just about every scene from the movie, twisting the famous dialogue to fit their extreme brilliance. For the uninitiated, in the film version, Jodie Foster played FBI agent-in-training Clarice Starling whose interviews with Anthony Hopkins’ criminally insane Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter augment the search for Ted Levine’s serial killer Jame Gumb.
It helps to have a basic familiarity with the film (though not entirely necessary) to enjoy the multitude of inside jokes. The overall detail in the production’s content is striking and the execution inventive (Gumb’s View-Master attached to a bicycle helmet is masterful, as well as Starling’s childhood recollections filtered through Kabuki). A little patience is abundantly rewarded for the 90+ minute-running time sans intermission, thanks to multiple applause holds and the rich mine of its 2-hour award-winning source of killer lines and iconic scenes. The humor and tone are deliciously lewd and that’s being polite. They go there. And there. And there. Etc. This show isn’t for the easily offended or faint-of-heart when it comes to the sexual and scatological. It’s The Family Guy by way of HBO (or perhaps Cinemax) or the Mad magazine material that’s too risqué for publication. But, if your threshold for jizz jokes and the use of the word “cunt” is high, you are in for one entertaining ride. Christopher Gattelli's assured direction (as well as choreography) keeps the momentum clipping along.
As Clarice, with her spotless accent, Christine Lakin (best known from the 1990s sitcom Step By Step) blew me away. She just doesn’t miss a beat. David Gaines as Hannibal Lecter is ruthlessly and unforgivingly great; he’ll have you begging for mercy. Stephen Bienskie as Gumb (aka Buffalo Bill) is mind-numbingly authentic. Jeff Skowron adds a little Uncle Arthur to his Dr. Chilton, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg as he escorts and flirts with Agent Starling in a song-and-dance number down to Lecter’s dungeonous quarters. Silence! hemorrhages comic and improvisational talent of a top-tier cast, which isn’t limited to an obscenely talented Greek chorus of lambs (with priceless small black condiment containers as hoofs used for multiple effect) who improv, mug, and perform gymnastics whether they’re the center of attention or off on the sidelines. There is always more than one direction to be looking. Enough cannot be said of every little flourish each member adds to the proceedings, including American Idol Season 3’s Latoya London as Ardelia Mapp (she has a gloriously predictable, but necessary moment towards the end) and So You Think You Can Dance Season 5’s Melissa Sandvig, who performs a showstopping pas de deux in a way I imagine she never expected to in her years of training as a ballerina.
As Clarice, with her spotless accent, Christine Lakin (best known from the 1990s sitcom Step By Step) blew me away. She just doesn’t miss a beat. David Gaines as Hannibal Lecter is ruthlessly and unforgivingly great; he’ll have you begging for mercy. Stephen Bienskie as Gumb (aka Buffalo Bill) is mind-numbingly authentic. Jeff Skowron adds a little Uncle Arthur to his Dr. Chilton, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg as he escorts and flirts with Agent Starling in a song-and-dance number down to Lecter’s dungeonous quarters. Silence! hemorrhages comic and improvisational talent of a top-tier cast, which isn’t limited to an obscenely talented Greek chorus of lambs (with priceless small black condiment containers as hoofs used for multiple effect) who improv, mug, and perform gymnastics whether they’re the center of attention or off on the sidelines. There is always more than one direction to be looking. Enough cannot be said of every little flourish each member adds to the proceedings, including American Idol Season 3’s Latoya London as Ardelia Mapp (she has a gloriously predictable, but necessary moment towards the end) and So You Think You Can Dance Season 5’s Melissa Sandvig, who performs a showstopping pas de deux in a way I imagine she never expected to in her years of training as a ballerina.
Before curtain, digital moths project on some massive monolithic face slabs (the names of the scene locations also appear in the font from the film). The surprisingly utilitarian and simple set is stitched with a collage of indented imagery spray-painted silver.
I wholeheartedly approve of this musical take on my all-time favorite film. Take that for what it’s worth. But, if you remotely liked the movie and have an appreciation for X-rated cringe-inducing humor and wit, you must treat yourself and your friends to Silence! The Musical. You can find tickets here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment