We've seen over a hundred people come through the door now in service of the idea of re-animating the Zone and I want to thank them properly in the best way I know how. By exhibiting their artwork to big houses, full of enormously entertaining people who are enthusiastic about art and performance, rowdy motherfuckers who laugh too long and scream too loud but bring the energy to a BOIL.
In short, YOU. In the front row. Putting the EEK in our weekend!
Tickets for this magnificent beast of a show are on sale now for all performances at www.FZ6D.com or head over to www.SacredFools.org and the result shall be the same. You and your fellows will have money extracted (as if by magic!) from your private pirate accounts and entry will be permitted for a short while to the riotous pleasure and exquisite pain of the Sixth Dimension.
The work over the past many weeks with our cast, our musicians, our crew, our technical staff, our designers, and our producers and gracious director has been easily the most fun and inspirational work I've done in the happiest circumstances with the greatest amount of talent gathered under one roof in my life in art. This little clown show proves to be made of the new element Operanium, and is dementedly touching while remaining terrifyingly sexy and salaciously horrible. You all have my eternal love for your devotion to art.
- Marz Richards
Monday, May 17, 2010
Author's Blog 003
We are four days away from opening. Where does the time go?! It's doubly amazing for me considering that my script started out as a paper log of subtitle transcriptions for the black and white DVD release and has evolved into the living, breathing creature of wonder and chaos that we will loose upon the world in mere days. I am absolutely astounded at the amount of work that's been done on this show by the amazing cast and crew, Scott Leggett, all of the designers, and I can't thank Sacred Fools, Richard Elfman and Jack Murphy enough for giving me the chance to play in the 6th Dimension. I'm equal parts anxious and excited right this second, but that being said: I can't wait to see this thing in front of a live audience.
Cheers!
Michael Holmes
Cheers!
Michael Holmes
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Music Producer's Blog 002
The Forbidden Zone is unsafe.
One would presume that this was understood. It is in the title. A Zone that is Forbidden! How much clearer must one be? It would seem that this says, “DANGER! DO NOT TRESPASS HERE! REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE AREA!”
And yet, a great many people have convened within Sacred Fools to plot your eventual entertainment. Unfortunately, the FZ6D virus is an incredibly vigorous strain of disease and after one scant hour of exposure even the most reserved personalities contained within our cast showed signs of advanced infection. Clothing was discarded and the infected grew close to one another as they raised their querulous voices in an unholy chant extolling the virtues and vices contained with the boundaries of the Sixth Dimension.
It is a most splendid thing to witness the creation of this flesh-golem that will caper and jape for your amusement. The three choreographers (!!!) that put us through our paces have designed a properly explosive opening number that will reintroduce you to all the denizens of the Forbidden Zone. I think we may have to mark the first row of seating as the Splash Area due to the moisture generated by the exertion and exultation of the cast.
Ever wanted to sit one foot away from Squeezit while he shrieks at you and dances his ass off?
Those seats are House Left, front row, first four seats from the vomitorium. Show up early and place yourself at the center of the action!
Need to get up close and personal with the Lord of Lies right off the bat?
Those seats are House Right, the very furthest to the side, but you may find yourself engaged by the King Creep in an unsavory fashion.
Now I’m not going to draw a map for you every time someone has a particularly inspired bit of blocking or a grand idea is executed with unerring accuracy, but I do want to take the time to tell you now that things are falling into place rapidly and we will be most happy to place our hot little tootsies upon the stage in front of you and strike sparks from the boards with our horns and claws when the time comes.
For a first few rehearsals, this was a Hell of a time well spent. We will keep cold crushing fools and remain in full effect until we see you all in May (and beyond!)
- Marz Richards
One would presume that this was understood. It is in the title. A Zone that is Forbidden! How much clearer must one be? It would seem that this says, “DANGER! DO NOT TRESPASS HERE! REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE AREA!”
And yet, a great many people have convened within Sacred Fools to plot your eventual entertainment. Unfortunately, the FZ6D virus is an incredibly vigorous strain of disease and after one scant hour of exposure even the most reserved personalities contained within our cast showed signs of advanced infection. Clothing was discarded and the infected grew close to one another as they raised their querulous voices in an unholy chant extolling the virtues and vices contained with the boundaries of the Sixth Dimension.
It is a most splendid thing to witness the creation of this flesh-golem that will caper and jape for your amusement. The three choreographers (!!!) that put us through our paces have designed a properly explosive opening number that will reintroduce you to all the denizens of the Forbidden Zone. I think we may have to mark the first row of seating as the Splash Area due to the moisture generated by the exertion and exultation of the cast.
Ever wanted to sit one foot away from Squeezit while he shrieks at you and dances his ass off?
Those seats are House Left, front row, first four seats from the vomitorium. Show up early and place yourself at the center of the action!
Need to get up close and personal with the Lord of Lies right off the bat?
Those seats are House Right, the very furthest to the side, but you may find yourself engaged by the King Creep in an unsavory fashion.
Now I’m not going to draw a map for you every time someone has a particularly inspired bit of blocking or a grand idea is executed with unerring accuracy, but I do want to take the time to tell you now that things are falling into place rapidly and we will be most happy to place our hot little tootsies upon the stage in front of you and strike sparks from the boards with our horns and claws when the time comes.
For a first few rehearsals, this was a Hell of a time well spent. We will keep cold crushing fools and remain in full effect until we see you all in May (and beyond!)
- Marz Richards
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Author's Blog 002
Now, I'm guessing more than one of you reading this has in their possession a copy of the Black & White DVD version of "Forbidden Zone." That being the case, I'm guessing you've probably perused the DVD extras and found the deleted scene entitled "Gider Brider Itzak," featuring Gramps being...well, Gramps.
As part of the process of compiling material for our version, I thought I'd do some research and see what the lyrics for this song were, just in case we could find a way to make it fit. But I looked high and low, scouring all corners of the internet and could not find them anywhere. I looked under the alternative titles "Giter Brider Itzak" and "Good Brother Itzhak," but I came up with bupkis.
But I had a hunch, and after a particularly lucky find at a local record store, I came across a cd that not only had the song on it, but also had the handy dandy lyrics enclosed!
So next time you're watching the clip, feel free to sing along!
"Gider Brider Itzak"
Far aich’dou shein meidlich
Hob ikh a giten plan
Oun ven ir vet mich folgen
Ver ir mir dank bar bzain
Torn zitz ir mit a coh’h
In park bay nach’ alien
Oiy zolt ir vissen vi azoy zich tsi bageine
Zitz der boch’h rouyik shtil mit aiych’
Torn fankt her oun tsi krichen
Zougt him glaich’
Oye veieye, oye oye oye
Gider Brider Itzak zait nicht azoy hitzik
Zait kain houch’m zait nor nit kain kval
Torn zizt ir mit a meidel
Do halt zich fin our heidel
Oye Itzik brider zaiyt nicht kain durak
Oye veiye, oye oye oye
Gider Brider Itzak zait nicht azoye hitzik
Zait kain houch’m zait nor nitcht kain kval
Zait nicht tsi fil macheh’
Oun nicht kirchen vi a dober hach’er
Oye Itzik brider zait nicht kain durak
- Michael Holmes
As part of the process of compiling material for our version, I thought I'd do some research and see what the lyrics for this song were, just in case we could find a way to make it fit. But I looked high and low, scouring all corners of the internet and could not find them anywhere. I looked under the alternative titles "Giter Brider Itzak" and "Good Brother Itzhak," but I came up with bupkis.
But I had a hunch, and after a particularly lucky find at a local record store, I came across a cd that not only had the song on it, but also had the handy dandy lyrics enclosed!
So next time you're watching the clip, feel free to sing along!
"Gider Brider Itzak"
Far aich’dou shein meidlich
Hob ikh a giten plan
Oun ven ir vet mich folgen
Ver ir mir dank bar bzain
Torn zitz ir mit a coh’h
In park bay nach’ alien
Oiy zolt ir vissen vi azoy zich tsi bageine
Zitz der boch’h rouyik shtil mit aiych’
Torn fankt her oun tsi krichen
Zougt him glaich’
Oye veieye, oye oye oye
Gider Brider Itzak zait nicht azoy hitzik
Zait kain houch’m zait nor nit kain kval
Torn zizt ir mit a meidel
Do halt zich fin our heidel
Oye Itzik brider zaiyt nicht kain durak
Oye veiye, oye oye oye
Gider Brider Itzak zait nicht azoye hitzik
Zait kain houch’m zait nor nitcht kain kval
Zait nicht tsi fil macheh’
Oun nicht kirchen vi a dober hach’er
Oye Itzik brider zait nicht kain durak
- Michael Holmes
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Music Director Blog 001
My earliest memory of FORBIDDEN ZONE was seeing the tape in video rental stores when I was a kid. I didn’t think much of it at the time, though I was confused about the fact that sometimes it would be in the “horror” section and sometimes “comedy”. I attribute this largely to the fact that San Jose, CA is not nearly as much of a film nerd town as Los Angeles (unless you take “The Milpitas Monster” into account). Or I could attribute it to the idea that most store managers took a look at the cover with a frog-headed butler, Tattoo, and Susan Tyrell grabbing her boobs and said, “Screw it! Put it in ‘nature films’ for all I care!”
I have a confession to make – I never actually saw the film until last year. I’ve always been a fan of Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo, but a casual fan at best. I love his film scores and, as a rock musician, love the fact that one of my own was able to parlay his rock singer career into that of being one of the busiest composers in the movieland. But that was about the extent of it.
Then my bandmate in Renfield, Marz Richards, approached me with the idea of being Music Director for FZ6D. It sounded like quite a challenge. I would be responsible for working with him to assemble two bands worth of musicians, learning an entire musical by ear, and teaching it to a bunch of other people. Now, I already play in three bands – Renfield, Uberband, and occasionally Batlord. I needed to ask myself if I had the time and energy for to be the sorta-conductor of this kinda-orchestra. I rented the movie.
I could list off my favorite artists, musicians, and writers for days. But suffice to say, I like it weird. And once I saw FZ, I couldn’t believe I had missed it. Richard Elfman’s Dadaist jaunt down the rabbit hole is a salad bowl of vaudevillian tomfoolery and cartoon imagery as imagined by the pimply kid who guzzles Slurpees in the hopes that they’ll get him high. It’s everything you want in a midnight movie.
I was still unsure, but I met the production team and they surprised the hell out of me. See, I used to act myself, and my experience of many theater productions was that of chaos fueled by insanity. Fulfilling, but exhausting. The people at Sacred Fools seemed organized, clear in their intentions, and astoundingly talented. As I told them at the time, I am always in hot pursuit of fun. This whole dang thing seemed too fun to pass up.
Since that time, we’ve been in a workshop stage. I’ve become a far greater fan of Elfman’s music now that I’m in the position of picking it apart. I’m amazed at the talent of my fellow musicians. And I’ve become infected with the fever anyone gets when they know they’re up to something extraordinary. I’ll shell out the details later. But you should know that I’ve found this to be extraordinary so far, and we’re still in the womb. More later.
-Ryan Johnson
I have a confession to make – I never actually saw the film until last year. I’ve always been a fan of Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo, but a casual fan at best. I love his film scores and, as a rock musician, love the fact that one of my own was able to parlay his rock singer career into that of being one of the busiest composers in the movieland. But that was about the extent of it.
Then my bandmate in Renfield, Marz Richards, approached me with the idea of being Music Director for FZ6D. It sounded like quite a challenge. I would be responsible for working with him to assemble two bands worth of musicians, learning an entire musical by ear, and teaching it to a bunch of other people. Now, I already play in three bands – Renfield, Uberband, and occasionally Batlord. I needed to ask myself if I had the time and energy for to be the sorta-conductor of this kinda-orchestra. I rented the movie.
I could list off my favorite artists, musicians, and writers for days. But suffice to say, I like it weird. And once I saw FZ, I couldn’t believe I had missed it. Richard Elfman’s Dadaist jaunt down the rabbit hole is a salad bowl of vaudevillian tomfoolery and cartoon imagery as imagined by the pimply kid who guzzles Slurpees in the hopes that they’ll get him high. It’s everything you want in a midnight movie.
I was still unsure, but I met the production team and they surprised the hell out of me. See, I used to act myself, and my experience of many theater productions was that of chaos fueled by insanity. Fulfilling, but exhausting. The people at Sacred Fools seemed organized, clear in their intentions, and astoundingly talented. As I told them at the time, I am always in hot pursuit of fun. This whole dang thing seemed too fun to pass up.
Since that time, we’ve been in a workshop stage. I’ve become a far greater fan of Elfman’s music now that I’m in the position of picking it apart. I’m amazed at the talent of my fellow musicians. And I’ve become infected with the fever anyone gets when they know they’re up to something extraordinary. I’ll shell out the details later. But you should know that I’ve found this to be extraordinary so far, and we’re still in the womb. More later.
-Ryan Johnson
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Music Producer Blog 001
In the late 80’s my uncle noticed that I was a big fan of Oingo Boingo and gave me a bootleg copy of FORBIDDEN ZONE on VHS that he had taped off of Night Flight or The Movie Channel one evening. I asked him what it was and he told me, “It’s the Oingo Boingo movie, nephew.” My uncle was always ahead of the game. He was calling me nephew 15 years ahead of Snoop and he had to foresight to bend my brain with Richard Elfman’s cornucopia of comedy and cartoon consequences.
I immediately began nightly screenings of the film. It became (and remains to this day) a litmus test for how much weird you can handle in your day-to-day existence. It is the gut-check for every entertainer I meet and is the gold standard of nuttery. I managed to spend the next 20 years using quotes and songs from the film in almost every artistic production that I had some degree of control over. If you saw a show I produced and someone turned on a TV, chances are they would be watching the Masseuse sing the Yiddeshe Charleston. If someone turned on a car radio in a short film, the best bet would be that Bim Bam Boom was about to joyfully explode from the speakers.
As I produced art and entertainment, I continued to keep FORBIDDEN ZONE in the circle of possible productions. When I luckily found myself backstage during the final Oingo Boingo shows, my first topic of conversation with Steve Bartek was, “Who, exactly, has the rights to a live production of FORBIDDEN ZONE?” At different points in the past decade, I approached notable theatre producers about putting together what I thought was a good bet for a hit production, only to find them not getting it at all…and one of these folks is well-known for batshit crazy theatre. It was a steep uphill climb to get them to listen, but as soon as I had them on point with the idea of a world premiere Elfman musical in Los Angeles, Gramps would spend two minutes beating a man to death while eating a pie and the whole thing would fall into a delightful Dada nightmare ending with the producer wondering how the hell I got into their house.
So the project went on the back-burner while I got busy on a lot of theatre and music production. This string of work led my band, Renfield, to perform at a benefit at Sacred Fools theater. I was appearing in the most recent production of Bill Robens’ excellent and canny musical A Mulholland Christmas Carol and getting to know people a little bit at Fools. Renfield was performing on Dia de los Muertos 2008 and after we ended our set with a little remix of the Oingo Boingo song Dead Man’s Party, I was approached by adaptation author Michael Holmes with the fateful question, “Ever hear of a movie called FORBIDDEN ZONE?”
How did this come to be? How would I have an uncle deranged enough to give a child this film for his birthday? How would I end up in Los Angeles and become warped by the pink and purple smoke that fills our lungs as we listen to odd bands and participate in strange theatre? How could I hunt musicians in order to form a band (and keep it together for over a decade) so that we could play a show on the Day of the Dead and be in front of the two gentleman who were carrying the standard of the Zombie Baby Army? How is it that all this happens in proximity to Sifu Richard Elfman and Maestro Danny Elfman so that we can gain their blessings and begin work immediately?
The answer is plain to see from where I sit. This was meant to be. Los Angeles loves the denizens of the Forbidden Zone and wants them to live again and is doing everything it can to help us make this demented fantasy a reality once again. I believe in magic and I do not have to look any further than my schedule have daily proof of magic at work. Very soon you will have proof as well.
Once I was brought aboard the production to bring the music of Danny Elfman and the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo to life on-stage at Sacred Fools, I did a very smart thing. I asked Ryan Johnson to be the musical director. He accepted this Olympian task without hesitation and has given the production solar strength. Ryan and I began sourcing musicians in autumn of 2009 and began workshopping the many vocal numbers contained within the film. As of last week, after uncounted hours of charting, arrangement, interviews, playdates, sing-a-longs, and one kajillion emails (and a final run-through on the best Super Bowl Sunday ever) we have in our simian skulls the mathematics required to target a trajectory that will place us in the heart of the Sixth Dimension.
Because of the heartfelt work by musicians Ryan Johnson (keyboards and arrangements), Noah Lifeschey (bass), Nikki Medlin (guitar), Peter Gilabert (guitar), Cosmo Jones (drums), Travis Thomas (trombone), Brian Wallis (trombone), Paul Literall (trumpet), Matt Rubin (trumpet), Colin Kupka (saxophone) and workshop vocalists Megan Crockett, Bryan Krasner, Rebecca Larsen, Alyssa Preston, Aileen-Marie Scott, Matt Valle we have been able to figure out the most dangerous compositions (that would be QUEEN’S REVENGE – seriously, that song is a double black diamond run) and how the live show can be best served by the amazing numbers that will now be shaped into stunning moments of entertainment by choreographer Natasha Norman and director Scott Leggett as we move into full production. You all have my eternal thanks.
What is this? This is a nightmarish amount of work for a hardcore group of professional entertainers. This is a dream come true for a kid from a poisoned cow town. This is the most ridiculous and resplendent show you’ll ever see in a 99-seat theater. This is FORBIDDEN ZONE: LIVE IN THE 6TH DIMENSION.
- Marz Richards
I immediately began nightly screenings of the film. It became (and remains to this day) a litmus test for how much weird you can handle in your day-to-day existence. It is the gut-check for every entertainer I meet and is the gold standard of nuttery. I managed to spend the next 20 years using quotes and songs from the film in almost every artistic production that I had some degree of control over. If you saw a show I produced and someone turned on a TV, chances are they would be watching the Masseuse sing the Yiddeshe Charleston. If someone turned on a car radio in a short film, the best bet would be that Bim Bam Boom was about to joyfully explode from the speakers.
As I produced art and entertainment, I continued to keep FORBIDDEN ZONE in the circle of possible productions. When I luckily found myself backstage during the final Oingo Boingo shows, my first topic of conversation with Steve Bartek was, “Who, exactly, has the rights to a live production of FORBIDDEN ZONE?” At different points in the past decade, I approached notable theatre producers about putting together what I thought was a good bet for a hit production, only to find them not getting it at all…and one of these folks is well-known for batshit crazy theatre. It was a steep uphill climb to get them to listen, but as soon as I had them on point with the idea of a world premiere Elfman musical in Los Angeles, Gramps would spend two minutes beating a man to death while eating a pie and the whole thing would fall into a delightful Dada nightmare ending with the producer wondering how the hell I got into their house.
So the project went on the back-burner while I got busy on a lot of theatre and music production. This string of work led my band, Renfield, to perform at a benefit at Sacred Fools theater. I was appearing in the most recent production of Bill Robens’ excellent and canny musical A Mulholland Christmas Carol and getting to know people a little bit at Fools. Renfield was performing on Dia de los Muertos 2008 and after we ended our set with a little remix of the Oingo Boingo song Dead Man’s Party, I was approached by adaptation author Michael Holmes with the fateful question, “Ever hear of a movie called FORBIDDEN ZONE?”
How did this come to be? How would I have an uncle deranged enough to give a child this film for his birthday? How would I end up in Los Angeles and become warped by the pink and purple smoke that fills our lungs as we listen to odd bands and participate in strange theatre? How could I hunt musicians in order to form a band (and keep it together for over a decade) so that we could play a show on the Day of the Dead and be in front of the two gentleman who were carrying the standard of the Zombie Baby Army? How is it that all this happens in proximity to Sifu Richard Elfman and Maestro Danny Elfman so that we can gain their blessings and begin work immediately?
The answer is plain to see from where I sit. This was meant to be. Los Angeles loves the denizens of the Forbidden Zone and wants them to live again and is doing everything it can to help us make this demented fantasy a reality once again. I believe in magic and I do not have to look any further than my schedule have daily proof of magic at work. Very soon you will have proof as well.
Once I was brought aboard the production to bring the music of Danny Elfman and the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo to life on-stage at Sacred Fools, I did a very smart thing. I asked Ryan Johnson to be the musical director. He accepted this Olympian task without hesitation and has given the production solar strength. Ryan and I began sourcing musicians in autumn of 2009 and began workshopping the many vocal numbers contained within the film. As of last week, after uncounted hours of charting, arrangement, interviews, playdates, sing-a-longs, and one kajillion emails (and a final run-through on the best Super Bowl Sunday ever) we have in our simian skulls the mathematics required to target a trajectory that will place us in the heart of the Sixth Dimension.
Because of the heartfelt work by musicians Ryan Johnson (keyboards and arrangements), Noah Lifeschey (bass), Nikki Medlin (guitar), Peter Gilabert (guitar), Cosmo Jones (drums), Travis Thomas (trombone), Brian Wallis (trombone), Paul Literall (trumpet), Matt Rubin (trumpet), Colin Kupka (saxophone) and workshop vocalists Megan Crockett, Bryan Krasner, Rebecca Larsen, Alyssa Preston, Aileen-Marie Scott, Matt Valle we have been able to figure out the most dangerous compositions (that would be QUEEN’S REVENGE – seriously, that song is a double black diamond run) and how the live show can be best served by the amazing numbers that will now be shaped into stunning moments of entertainment by choreographer Natasha Norman and director Scott Leggett as we move into full production. You all have my eternal thanks.
What is this? This is a nightmarish amount of work for a hardcore group of professional entertainers. This is a dream come true for a kid from a poisoned cow town. This is the most ridiculous and resplendent show you’ll ever see in a 99-seat theater. This is FORBIDDEN ZONE: LIVE IN THE 6TH DIMENSION.
- Marz Richards
Friday, February 5, 2010
Author's Blog 001
I kind of got into Oingo Boingo backwards. See, in the mid-90's I was as big Rude Boy as I could be living in Albuquerque, NM and as such tried to dabble in as many ska related things as possible (If you ask nice, I'll show you my tattoo sometime). There was something about the flamboyance and sheer PEP of ska that really appealed to me, and for a long time I felt if you couldn't dance to it, it wasn't worth it. I blame the Skeletones, Let's Go Bowling and The Concentrators for this. Now, around this same time I also happened to be studying theatre, since I had managed to snag a scholarship to the local university and they didn't yet offer musical theatre or acting for film as a major, so I made the most with what I could. Between rehearsing plays and attending Ska shows, my dance card (pun only moderately intended) was pretty full, and having taken notice of my newfound musical obsession, and old, dear friend of mine gave me a copy of "Good for Your Soul" on vinyl. I was skeptical, I'm not going to lie. For me, for the longest time (and I realize now just how close minded I was), Oingo Boingo was nothing more to me than that "Weird Science" band. But hey, a free record is a free record, right?
From the moment the needle hit the record, I was hooked. It had pep. It had showmanship. Now THIS was a band to latch on to!
But let's back up a little further, even. When I was wee, my mom worked part time at a video store owned by some friends of our family (which, if memory serves was just called "Video Movies"), and it being the early-mid 80's and Blockbuster not yet having put the kibosh on mom and pop shops, this was a rare opportunity for me. I spent literally hundreds of hours walking up and down the aisles looking at the video covers (or attempting to), and I swear that one day I came across this day-glo, impressionistic wonder on the shelf: a buxom woman grasping her breast flanked by the devil, a frog...and Tattoo? I was fascinated, I looked at it again and again, until eventually I got caught. But "Forbidden Zone" had entered my vocabulary.
Now let's get a little closer to the present. A few years ago, having become fascinated with the swath of bizarre musicals that cropped up in the late 70's and early 80's ("The Apple,""Phantom of the Paradise,""Shock Treatment"), I FINALLY watched "Forbidden Zone." And from the moment the movie started, just like that needle hitting on the record, I was HOOKED. It was like Alice in Wonderland on PCP filtered through a Dali painting directed by Eugene Ionesco. This Richard Elfman cat? A genius! Oh, and it was funny and sexy and about halfway through the film, I said to myself "This would be killer onstage. I wonder if anyone's done it before?"
Come to find out, they hadn't. Not fully, anyway. And it's a darn good thing, otherwise I might be prepping a production of "Jacques Brel is Alive And Well And Living in Paris" right now.
I did some research and after some digging I found Richard Elfman's contact info, and took an uncharacteristically bold leap and contacted him. I was prepared to write it off and was proud of myself for at least getting that far. Imagine, then, my surprise when Jack Murphy, his business partner in FZ LLC, contacted me to let me know that they just HAPPENED to be screening a new color print of the film at The Egyptian that week and maybe I should come say hi. Seriously, you could've knocked me down with a feather. So I went. And I met Jack. And Richard Elfman himself, who had expressed some chagrin about people having approached them in the past and the feeling not being there. But I lived in LA, so that was a point in my favor. And after the pair of them (and Richard's wife, Lauren) attending a performance at Sacred Fools, the enthusiasm began to grow, and I set about adapting this quintessential bizarro entertainment for the live stage. Which I assure you is no mean feat. How weird is too weird for stage? How do you do the 6th Dimension animations "live?" Do you keep the Princess topless throughout the whole thing (the answer to that one is an emphatic yes, by the way)? Just what the hell do we think we're doing here?! We had a few mandates, but we've also been given a wide berth with this project.
That initial was a little over a year ago as of this writing, and we are still about 5 months away from mounting it.I can already tell you I am incredibly excited and more than a little anxious to put this zombie baby on its feet. As a fan and fanboy, I am all too aware of what the best intentions can do to cherished memories. And I'm going to do my damndest to make sure that not only do they continue to BE cherished memories, but maybe help foster a few new ones before I'm done.
Now go with the Princess. And don't be cheeky.
- Michael Holmes
From the moment the needle hit the record, I was hooked. It had pep. It had showmanship. Now THIS was a band to latch on to!
But let's back up a little further, even. When I was wee, my mom worked part time at a video store owned by some friends of our family (which, if memory serves was just called "Video Movies"), and it being the early-mid 80's and Blockbuster not yet having put the kibosh on mom and pop shops, this was a rare opportunity for me. I spent literally hundreds of hours walking up and down the aisles looking at the video covers (or attempting to), and I swear that one day I came across this day-glo, impressionistic wonder on the shelf: a buxom woman grasping her breast flanked by the devil, a frog...and Tattoo? I was fascinated, I looked at it again and again, until eventually I got caught. But "Forbidden Zone" had entered my vocabulary.
Now let's get a little closer to the present. A few years ago, having become fascinated with the swath of bizarre musicals that cropped up in the late 70's and early 80's ("The Apple,""Phantom of the Paradise,""Shock Treatment"), I FINALLY watched "Forbidden Zone." And from the moment the movie started, just like that needle hitting on the record, I was HOOKED. It was like Alice in Wonderland on PCP filtered through a Dali painting directed by Eugene Ionesco. This Richard Elfman cat? A genius! Oh, and it was funny and sexy and about halfway through the film, I said to myself "This would be killer onstage. I wonder if anyone's done it before?"
Come to find out, they hadn't. Not fully, anyway. And it's a darn good thing, otherwise I might be prepping a production of "Jacques Brel is Alive And Well And Living in Paris" right now.
I did some research and after some digging I found Richard Elfman's contact info, and took an uncharacteristically bold leap and contacted him. I was prepared to write it off and was proud of myself for at least getting that far. Imagine, then, my surprise when Jack Murphy, his business partner in FZ LLC, contacted me to let me know that they just HAPPENED to be screening a new color print of the film at The Egyptian that week and maybe I should come say hi. Seriously, you could've knocked me down with a feather. So I went. And I met Jack. And Richard Elfman himself, who had expressed some chagrin about people having approached them in the past and the feeling not being there. But I lived in LA, so that was a point in my favor. And after the pair of them (and Richard's wife, Lauren) attending a performance at Sacred Fools, the enthusiasm began to grow, and I set about adapting this quintessential bizarro entertainment for the live stage. Which I assure you is no mean feat. How weird is too weird for stage? How do you do the 6th Dimension animations "live?" Do you keep the Princess topless throughout the whole thing (the answer to that one is an emphatic yes, by the way)? Just what the hell do we think we're doing here?! We had a few mandates, but we've also been given a wide berth with this project.
That initial was a little over a year ago as of this writing, and we are still about 5 months away from mounting it.I can already tell you I am incredibly excited and more than a little anxious to put this zombie baby on its feet. As a fan and fanboy, I am all too aware of what the best intentions can do to cherished memories. And I'm going to do my damndest to make sure that not only do they continue to BE cherished memories, but maybe help foster a few new ones before I'm done.
Now go with the Princess. And don't be cheeky.
- Michael Holmes
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