The Little Merman from the Black Lagoon

Posted on by Thor

I had sketched a rehearsal of The Little Merman from the Black Lagoon written and directed by Christian Kelty. I was happy I then got a chance to see the production live at Stonewall Bar Orlando (741 W Church St, Orlando, Florida 32805.) Karaoke was going on downstairs and I had to ask  the bar maid where I could find the Merman. She directed me to the upstairs bar. I ordered a beer and started sketching the bar and a palm tree covered swamp scene which I assumed was the backdrop for the adventure to follow. I met someone I had sketched meditating at Veg Fest. I am always happy when people introduce themselves since I tend to blend into the woodwork as I sketch.

A three piece band was set up complete with a theremin which is that science-fiction sounding instrument that is played by just waving our hands over it. The slithering sound began and the show began. The Little Merman from the Black Lagoon is a mash up of the 1950s horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Disney animated classic The Little Mermaid. The discovery of an aquatic human hand lead researchers, Julie (Jenn Gannon) and Richard (Scottie Campbell) to explore the Black Lagoon thanks to the funding of (Timmy Walczak) who was the chauvinistic financial backer of the trip. The boat’s captain, navigated the treacherous waters thanks to a boat wheel that thrust out of his pelvis like a phallus.

At rehearsal I had only seen the first half of the show. I was shocked by how the violent conclusion of the show. The Merman eventually got his legs but had to give up his voice. That resulted in a huge monster of a green man who sounded like the Frankenstein monster. He was truly menacing when he grunted and his long awaited interactions with humans didn’t go as he had imagined.

The staging was tight being between two rows of patrons seated at the bar and along the windows. But the cast used this narrow walkway of a stage to great advantage. The folks across from me where smiling ear to ear and so was I. This was a fun premise and very entertaining.

The show run had been completed, but there is one more encore performance happening on Sunday May 5, 2019 at 1pm at Stonewall Bar Orlando (741 W Church St, Orlando, Florida 32805.)

Tickets are:

$20 in advance

$25 at the door

Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime.

Seating is extremely limited for each show.

The Little Merman from the Black Lagoon

Posted on by Thor

Written and directed by Christian Kelty, The Little Merman from the Black Lagoon is a mash up of the 1950’s horror film and a classic cartoon fairy tale. A group of scientists travel the Amazon in search of the legendary “Gill-Man,” and come face to face with Ethyl the Merman and his friends from “under the lagoon”. Christain himself took on the role of the Merman who is curious about life with legs.

Julie (Jenn Gannon) and Richard (Scottie Campbell) were the scientist couple who discovered a merman’s hand and wanted to find the evolutionary missing link. Salty was  the captain who steered their course with a tiny ship wheel that conveniently thrust out from his groin. The fourth member on the expedition (Timmy Walczak) was the chauvinistic financial backer of the trip. He was always  putting Richard down and jockeying for dominance. He was most comfortable when holding a weapon. He wasn’t interested in research but in manly trophies.

A second story line developed under the lagoon, with the Little Merman, Ethyl, collecting human art and trinkets and arguing with his father. Butch a jerk of a shrimp acted as his conscience, siding with is father’s wishes while Angie the angler fish encouraged the merman’s more refined and creative wishes with his counsel. The Merman sang much of Part of your World with lyrics reflecting the idea that though life above water has its problems it has to be better than life in the lagoon. Certainly up there they don’t reprimand their sons.

I didn’t get to see the entirety of the show in this rehearsal but I have to believe that the Merman will one day walk on two legs and I suspect he will meet the researchers. The chauvinist, using a harpoon forced Salty to turn the boat around. I liked the staging of this scene because the actors rotated around Salty as the boat turned making it seem like we all were turning with them. I don’t know what path followed. I’ll have to see the show to find out.

Later that day I was taking to Pam Schwartz about the names of the characters of the show. ‘When I am lost in sketching, I don’t always catch such details. She explained that the Merman was named Ethyl. What a strange name for a merman we both thought and then the light bulb went off for us both. Oooooo. Ethyl Merman was a huge Broadway star. There is no business like show business!

Original Art and Set Design by Alexa Busnot and Sam Hazell

Original Puppets Designed and created by David Jordan

Original Score by Atif Shariff

PERFORMANCES DATES-

Fri     4/5/2019     6:30pm doors – 7pm Show

Sun   4/7/2019     12:30pm doors- 1pm Show

Thu   4/11/2019   7:30pm doors- 8pm Show

Sun   4/14/2019   12pm doors- 1pm Show

Thu   4/18/2019   7:30pm doors- 8pm Show

Fri     4/19/2019   6:30pm doors- 7pm Show

Mon  4/22/2019   8:30pm doors- 9pm Show (Industry Night)

Thu   4/25/2019   8:30pm doors- 9pm Show

Tickets are:

$20 in advance

$25 at the door

$10 for Monday APRIL 22nd

Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime.

Seating is extremely limited for each show.

The performances will take place in the upstairs bar Stonewall Bar Orlando (741 W Church St, Orlando, Florida 32805.)

Joe’s NYC Bar Shakes up Mathew’s Tavern at this year’s Fringe.

Posted on by Thor

On The green lawn of fabulousness a friend and I bumped into actress Marty Stonerock ordering soft serve ice cream. She is one of the actors in Joe’s NYC Bar at Mathew’s Tavern. She let us know that the show was about to hit the 100th performance landmark. The show we were going to was the 99th. She said there was a good chance we all would be singing 99 Luft Balloons. We arrived a bit early and relaxed in the outdoor beer garden trying to avoid the insidious cigarette smoke. There was only one entrance and we didn’t know that a line was forming outside. A car alarm blasted the evening calm for a solid five minutes. Frank, from To be Frank was in line in front of us. I showed her the sketch I did of her performance earlier in in day. Someone who looked down on his luck worked the line offering free advice for $1. The bar owner (Christian Kelty) came out upset and they argued the merits of free advice versus panhandling. If he was panhandling then he should have been in a blue box.

The bar stools were all occupied but are found seats along the wall with a good view of the female guitarist who played acoustic for the pre- show. Three women dressed to the nines were near the guitarist. The bar tender offered the prettiest woman a Jack Daniels. It is impossible to separate the cast from the audience, and the audience joined in some serious heated debates about creative license with other peoples stories, and the right to privacy. A rich yuppie prick (John Connon) bragged about his riches and the number of women he had slept with. (he claimed to be approaching 600.) The guy offering free advice entered the bar. Arguments erupted and a bar stool crashed to the floor. The angry patron (Tim Williams) had to be bounced from the bar. Much later, this angry patron re-entered. The bar owner said he wasn’t welcome. The guy was right next to me as he apologized for disrespecting everyone. He spoke from the heart saying he doesn’t have a family. The patrons in the bar were his only family. He pointed to several regulars saying, “you are me family” to each. He pointed to me looked me in the eye and said the same. I noticed the woman who had been offered the free drink was choked up. Her eyes sparkled from the tears she tried to hold back. She finally had I wipe a tear a way with her pinkie.

The show seems largely improvised with certain story points being hit throughout.. The rehearsal I sketched a year ago had been completely different.  The heartbreak of love lost was discussed at some length. How do you separate from someone you love today? One of the women shouted, “Text message.”  The bar patrons argued about what matters in the hear and now, the play hit home with plenty of heart. It was an incredible night of theater. Absolute magic.

Drama erupts at Saint Mathew’s Tavern with Joe’s NYC Bar.

Posted on by Thor

I always tell people that if you sketch on location, some drama always unfolds. David Lee invited me to sketch at Saint Mathew’s Tavern (1300 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL) and there was drama in spades. I found a seat in the corner of the bar next to a large speaker and got to work. I sketch in bars all the time but I seldom get to experience this level of heart felt camaraderie and gut wrenching drama. From the outset I felt this was a bar where everybody knew my name and I was invested in these peoples lives. This was interactive theater at its best.

Joe’s NYC Bar is an interactive, improvisational, immersive theatre
experience in which the audience is transported to a bar on Manhattan’s
lower east side. Debuting as part of the 2001 Orlando International
Fringe Theatre Festival, Joe’s ran for 4 years and 76 performances. This
past March Joe’s returned from a ten year absence and was greeted with
positive reviews from critics and audiences alike. The show sold out 5
of 6 shows in March and then all 4 performances at the 2015 Orlando
International Fringe Festival. Ten years later, Joe’s has proven to be a
concept and piece of theatre more relevant and popular than ever.

It was hard to tell where the play stopped and the inside jokes began. Some of the funniest moments were so topical that they had to be improvised. A straight laced Republican in a suit (Tim Williams) sat at my end of the bar and he seemed a bit out of place when everyone else was sleeveless or in T shirts. In a heated scene he confronted everyone saying “You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’ve been through.” This was true of everyone in the bar. What unfolded slowly, pealed away the layers to expose the inner pain that drove defensive behaviors. Much later in the evening, the Republican returned to the bar and found his recently separated wife (Anitra Pritchard-Bryant) was present. The bar went silent before the couple confronted each other.

Christian Kelty originated the idea for this interactive show. The seed was planted when he worked in a Renaissance festival show that invited the audience to participate. In this age of social media people are often interested in the endless drama that surfaces online every day. We have become a society of reality show voyeurs. In this everyday bar setting it becomes easy to let go and become part of the scene. Over the course of the evening it was possible to get to walk a mile in each character’s shoes. Even in this rehearsal, I wasn’t sure who was an actor and who just happened to be there for a drink. With a sold out show, that fourth wall must be even more blurry. Add a couple of drinks and the line is further blurred. Live local music acts fill out the evening, making it a typical night in the Mill’s 50 bar scene. Don’t just go to see a show. Be the show.


6 Performances
Running September 13th-October 18th
Sunday Matinees ONLY!
3:00pm doors 3:30 Showtime

Tickets available at:
www.wanzie.com
$17 in advance / $25 day of show

The stellar casts features: Anitra Pritchard-Bryant, Ali Flores, John Connon, Michael Marinaccio, Jenn Gannon, Simon Needham, Christian Kelty, David Lee, Tim Williams and Jodi Chase.

Musical Acts
9/20 The Smoking Jackets
9/27 and 10/4 Eugene Snowden (The Legendary JC’s) and Friends
10/11 DJ Jay Ross Barwick
10/18 TBA