Credit: Derek Fu
Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre until August 3, 2019
Tickets from $37 at silencethemusical.ca
Posted July 27, 2019
There are earworms and then there are earworms. Leaving TUTS’ production of Mamma Mia! you’ll be singing “ You can dance/You can jive/Having the time of your l-i-f-e”/See that girl/Watch that scene/Digging the dancing queen”. Exiting the BMO Theatre Centre you will be left singing “If I Could Smell Her Cunt” – not something you’d want to find yourself singing while shopping for groceries or at your in-laws dinner party.
But within the context of SILENCE! The Musical, it’s absolutely hilarious.
With music and lyrics by Jon and Al Kaplan, and book by Hunter Bell, SILENCE! The Musical is a raunchy parody of that creepiest of psychological thrillers The Silence of the Lambs, starring Anthony Hopkins, as the brilliant psychiatrist and serial killer/cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter, and Jodie Foster, as the young, aspiring FBI agent Clarice Starling.
Credit: Derek Fu
The film came out in 1991; the musical followed and was a runaway success at the New York Fringe Festival in 2005.
Publicists, critics and audience members’ words to describe the show include racy, irreverent, obscene, vulgar, hilarious, subversive, raunchy, offensive and naughty. They are all right but you will laugh ‘til it hurts. The opening number, sung by a septet of white-hooved, white-eared lambs, lays the groundwork:
“You may have nightmares when you’re through
And if you leave here feeling hollow
It scared the shit right out of you
This is the silence of the lambs…….”
Credit: Derek Fu
It doesn’t matter if you never saw The Silence of the Lambs or have forgotten the plot. SILENCE! The Musical follows the story pretty closely: Clarice Starling (Stephanie Liatopoulos), an FBI trainee, is charged by her boss Jack Crawford (Scott Walters) to interview long-time prison inmate Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Seth Gordon Little) in an effort to discover the identity of another serial killer on the loose, Buffalo Bill (Mike Kovac). Starling is guided by the prison warden Dr. Frederick Chilton (Graeme Thompson) who, when it looks like Starling is closing in on the case, tries to take over and take the credit for bringing Buffalo Bill in.
Under the musical direction of Jeremy Hoffman, the three-piece band provides music for more than a dozen songs that range from rap to tango. And this ensemble of eight can really, really sing. Wait ‘til you hear Kovac belt out, “I’d Fuck Me” and “Are You A Size 14?”, Steffanie Davis sing, “My Daughter is Catherine”, or the chillingly calm Seth Gordon Little offer up, “If I Could Smell Her Cunt”.
Credit: Derek Fu
The triumvirate of Stephanie Liatopoulos (fabulous singer, great acting chops), Seth Gordon Little (eerily contained) and Mike Kovac (wildly, psychopathically out of control) makes SILENCE! work fabulously well but they are strongly supported by the entire ensemble including Jenn Suratos and Derry Oshust.
The show looks fantastic with lamb costumes by Julie White, choreography by Ken Overbey and lighting design by Darren W. Hales.
The story begins to lag a little; the material is just a little thin to be sustained for two hours. But director Mark Carter keeps the music, the visuals, the funny/vulgar lyrics coming at you. It’s rude but it’s a hoot!
Credit: Derek Fu
This Down Stage Right (DSR) production comes thanks to the very first Arts Club Access Grant – a grant that provides rehearsal and performance space to the recipient company. DSR artistic director Mark Carter, in his program notes, says, “This performance would not be possible if not for this amazing opportunity.” Kudos to the Arts Club for this generous and innovative grant about which Arts Club Associate Artistic Director Stephen Drover writes, ““We are super excited to launch the Access Grant Program, which will provide small theatre companies with access to a dynamic venue, strengthen our relationships with the larger theatre community, and animate our Goldcorp Stage even more. We look forward to finding more ways to connect with our colleagues in Vancouver’s incredibly vibrant arts community and are really excited for DSR Production’s fun and outrageous show.”
If you loved DSR’s Rocky Horror Show, you’ll love this. And tame that earworm; maybe just sing the songs when you’re alone in the shower.