19 March 2023 Sunday - Did You See...?

[scenicdesign71]

That show for which I was helping my friend Kis make some clay sculptures had two previews this past Thursday and Friday before officially opening Saturday 3/18:

Production photos: https://www.facebook.com/LaMiradaTheatre/posts/pfbid0BDNXZFahutzTHCe7umBB5DDp3Ry8doVbxTqJGqAgnkRg3AYh5XzZDFrYX7jKqZR7l

Scenic model: https://www.facebook.com/LaMiradaTheatre/posts/pfbid0gxZeHZVPXTwb5tYcVQQQqy1MSoFQCiWy5258Um3Br1GeV3rByMQCUPpxKMNFvYznl

As far as Little Shop-esque gimmickry goes (Walter Paisley's script includes a direct and winningly self-deprecating nod to LSoH, complete with a brief sight-gag cameo by a baby Audrey II), the adaptors here have gone all-out, using puppetry, animation, costumes and makeup, and plain old sculpture to sell the story's central horror-comedy conceit of corpses converted into art by being encased in clay -- and also to flesh out its device of having Walter's victims return from beyond the grave to haunt his conscience (as hallucinated voices in the original film, but as tangible, drolly vengeful ghosts here).

The body count is much higher in this adaptation, with Walter creating a veritable menagerie of dead-animal "sculptures" before eventually moving on to humans -- who themselves include not only the movie's small handful of expedient kills, but also an additional montage's-worth of surreptitious serial vigilanteism purging the world of such undesirables as a purse-snatching mugger, a brazen litterbug, and a smoker who ignores no-smoking signs, among various others.

In the end, Kis (along with me, her sister, and one other assistant) created almost all of the non-puppet life-size animal sculptures, eight in total; plus two human busts based on 3D-printed scans of the actors' heads.  One of the latter is meant to look like a genuinely accomplished (i.e., not corpse-based) realistic clay bust, slightly larger than life and described in the script as "exquisite" (no pressure or anything!) to reveal, in an ironic epilogue, that -- unlike in the movie -- our late lamented antihero actually harbored untapped artistic talent all along.  The other is an almost twice life-size bronze portrait bust of Walter himself (in this version, he ends up being posthumously fêted with a Lafayette Park memorial, his crimes having been successfully covered-up by his opportunistic gallerist), featuring a built-in trick engineered for us by a young puppeteer here in Brooklyn to serve as a final "button" for the entire evening -- somewhat in the manner of LSoH's surprise "vine drop" during "Don't Feed The Plants," but even more pointedly surreal (think Carrie, perhaps) and physically much smaller.  (I'm told the entire stone plinth, with the bronze bust on top, moves directly downstage-center onto the apron for the final moment; I only hope they've managed to light this effect in such a way as to both withhold the surprise throughout the preceding scene and then accentuate it, when it occurs, for a quick but hopefully exciting gotcha! just before the final blackout).

I wish I could make it out there to actually see the finished production.  (It's been strange -- and of course, from a practical perspective, suboptimal -- working on these pieces from the opposite coast).  After feeling skeptical about the show based on its teaser (made at least four months ago, with different actors and greenscreened backgrounds from the designer's sketches), I was recently finally able to read the the script, and found it much more enjoyable than I'd expected.  It won't redefine musical theatre as we know it, but it's a slick, witty and surprising adaptation which could make for a delightfully entertaining evening if the score (which I haven't heard) is as engaging as the libretto.

Indeed, audiences seem to like it.  The title, though... desperately needs rethinking, imho.

[scenicdesign71]

...I was recently finally able to read the the script, and ...  it's a slick, witty and surprising adaptation which could make for a delightfully entertaining evening if the score (which I haven't heard) is as engaging as the libretto.

  Alas... according to Theatermania, "the musical's heaviest albatross is its uninventive score":

Review:  Did You See What Walter Paisley Did Today? Recalls Little Shop but Lacks Its Bite

I can't really agree or disagree, having still not heard any of it myself (apart from the mildly annoying earworm, from the title song, that they've used repeatedly in the trailer and half a dozen other promotional spots).  But the other reviews I've seen have been almost entirely enthusiastically-favorable:

• BroadwayWorld: "A thoroughly impressive world premiere, one of the most enjoyable work-in-progress shows I've seen in a long time."
• Stage Raw: "Though it parodies the B-movie genre, the show feels fresh — maybe because it's so funny, with the story being so well told."
• SoCalThrills: "An uproarious ode to the best of horror comedy musicals ... a side-splitting treat for the eyes and ears."
• Stage and Cinema: "The concept is fantastic, and the jokes are solid.  The crisp, quick pacing will keep you on edge and in stitches."
• Los Cerritos News: "Enthralling ... an over-the-top eccentric show.  Great performances.  The set design is superb."
• LA Theatre Bites: "I give DYSWWPDT? an 8.9 out of 10 -- this is an excellent show."

Running through next Sunday, April 2 in La Mirada.