SHEER BLOODY LUNACY!
A Cabaret Horror/Comedy Musical
by Jon Gillespie
Plays for 2 Nights Only at Boneshakers Pub
Directed by Michael Benson. Choreography by Chris Berry and Paige Blend (based on Charles Barksdale’s original choreography). Original music by Phillip Luna, and lyrics and book adaptation by Jon Gillespie.
October 26 and 27, 2012
Place: Boneshaker’s Pub, 306 Austin Street, San Antonio TX 78215.
Cost: $10 general admission. Cash or checks at the door.
Contact: Please email jongillespie61@gmail.com for reservations or contact the Facebook event site for Sheer Bloody Lunacy.
Experience the horror of the Crimson Executioner's revenge in “Sheer Bloody Lunacy!,” a musical adapted from Bloody Pit of Horror, an Italian movie in the public domain. The cabaret horror/comedy musical plays for two nights only, Friday and Saturday, October 26 and 27, 10:30 pm, at Boneshakers Pub in San Antonio, Texas.
“Sheer Bloody Lunacy” tells the story of a group of models who stumble into a castle while on a photo shoot. The castle's owner, an obsessed bodybuilder and ex-action movie star named Travis Anderson, disdains any contact with the outside world and its "inferior humans." Soon the 300-year-old spirit of the Crimson Executioner is awakened, and the beautiful people begin to meet their gory demise....
This new musical has it all: original music, lingerie models, blood, half-naked men, fight scenes, hilarious choreography, weird effects, and, a ludicrous plot. It is produced by PUB-Lick Theatre Productions, a new company dedicated to staging theatre pieces in unconventional spaces such as pubs. Producers include Christie Beckham, Jon Gillespie, and Chris Berry.
The show was originally presented at the Overtime Theater in San Antonio four years ago. The book and lyrics have been updated and streamlined by Jon Gillespie, and the staging adapted by director Michael Benson, to take place in a space that encourages improvisation and audience interaction: Boneshakers Pub, a San Antonio bar and grill that seats approximately 60 people. Boneshakers is known for its alternative music programming, offering rock and jazz along with a large variety of beer and wine and a simple but delicious menu.
As patrons drink their cold brews, actors stationed in various spots around the bar will perform the musical. A live band led by composer Phillip Luna will play the rock-disco soundtrack. The non-traditional setting will make for some interesting moments. The actors don't perform just onstage. Instead, they might sit and drink along with the rest of the bar crowd. Other times, an actor may be flirting with an audience member, or taking a bathroom break, and have to sing or recite her lines under a little extra pressure, so to speak.
The cast includes actors who have performed in lead and feature roles in other San Antonio venues such as the San Pedro Playhouse, Sheldon Vexler Theatre, and Classic Theatre. The cast was attracted to taking on an unconventional musical in a new setting, to stretch their chops and have some fun.
“I want the audience to feel like they’re in an Italian giallo film, like Dario Argento’s poorly funded, not nearly as talented cousin,” said director Michael Benson. “The audience should dress appropriately because blood and oil will be splashing everywhere.”
Make your reservations today for “Sheer Bloody Lunacy!” It’s an original that can be seen nowhere else but San Antonio.
Cast:
Christie Beckham, Michael Benson, Chris Berry, Paige Blend, Joseph Gomez, Mark Hicks, Beth Morgan, Walter Songer, Connie Vela, and Jason Vela.
PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR BIOS
Christie Beckham hails from Dallas, Texas. Her career has included regional and international theater, improvisation and sketch, television and feature films. Recent roles include Mae West in Dirty Blonde (Cameo Theater), Mrs. Phillips/Femme Fatale in D.O.A., a Noir Musical (Overtime Theater), and Chelsea Maxwell in Ugly People (Overtime Theater). Christie also plays the role of Babette in The Firebugs at the Classic Theatre in October 2012. She received a 2011 ATAC Globe Award for Lead Actress in a Drama for Broken Record, and a 2010 ATAC Globe Award for Lead Actress in a Comedy for The Happy Couple. She recently appeared in Italian Vogue magazine. Christie served as Executive Director of the Overtime Theater, 2009-2011.
Michael Benson is happy to be directing Sheer Bloody Lunacy for PUB-Lick Theatre Production’s first show. Most recently he played Jud in Oklahoma! at the San Pedro Playhouse and Charles Guiteau in Sondheim’s Assassins at the Sheldon Vexler Theatre. Michael currently is studying for his master’s degree in history at UTSA.
Chris Berry was last seen at the San Pedro Playhouse in its Centennial Gala and has performed there as Curly in Oklahoma! and Robert Martin in The Drowsy Chaperone. At the Playhouse, Chris has also been seen as Harold Hill in The Music Man, Prez in Curtains, and Young Scrooge/Fred in A Christmas Carol. He has worked professionally and regionally in California, and is a graduate of PCPA Conservatory of the Arts. Chris would like to thank PB for her love and support.
Jon Gillespie has been a professional writer for over 30 years, including a stint as editor for an alternative paper (when he got paid to listen to loud music and hang out in bars). Sheer Bloody Lunacy! is one of several efforts to transform old cult movies into musicals, as he also adapted the book and wrote the lyrics for D.O.A. a Noir Musical (named “one of the best of 2011” by the San Antonio Express-News and a 2012 ATAC Globe nominee) and The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (named one of the best “Local Sci-Fi Events” by the Missions Unknown blog).
Phillip Luna drew on his long experience as a musician and bandleader to compose the original music for Sheer Bloody Lunacy! Phillip’s current and past bands, which can be found playing around S.A. on a regular basis, include Royal Punisher, Fear Snakeface, Psychics, Worm, Def Space, and the legendary Taco Land house band, Shit City Dreamgirls. Phillip also composed the music for The Brain That Wouldn’t Die: A New Musical and displays his diverse artworks at local galleries throughout the year.
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