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July 7, 2011While the combination of musical theater and campy science fiction may seem absurd, this unusual collaboration of genres is steadily gaining popularity … and you don’t have to go to a galaxy far, far away to find it.
During LePetit Theatre de Terrebonne’s 2010 season, the Houma stage was transformed into a galactic spaceship for “Return to the Forbidden Planet,” a silly, sci-fi version of “The Tempest” set to a slue of revamped Golden Oldies.
This year, the theater is bringing the cheesy genre combo back with “Scream Queens: The Musical,” a tribute to the outlandish, fantasy-driven, zero-budget movies of yore.
In this spicy, Scream Queen production, six voluptuous, B-movie actresses plan to resuscitate their motion picture careers by performing musical numbers for their fans at a science fiction and horror film convention. Book, music and lyrics written by Scott Martin and directed by Pat Hornsby Crochet, this musical parody promises loads of laughs and tons of audience interaction.
“It’s just going to be a scream,” Crochet said with a snicker. “There’s lots of audience participation. We are going to have a scream contest and at one point [the cast is] going to teach audience members how to be zombies. They talk with the audience and that kind of thing. It’s a lot of fun.”
We meet our lovely ladies in a 2-star, hotel ballroom – designed by LePetit board member John Sonnier – at the annual Scream-icon convention.
Richelle, played by Kim Champagne, a vocal music teacher, acts as the leader of the pack.
Playing Bianca, the farm girl turned actress, is Amy Adams, another local vocal coach. Kat Pierron performs as Alexis, the smart one of the group, with a business degree, while Sharlene Saunders is Nadine, the British granddame. CenterStage singing competition organizer, Ann Duplantis, acts as DeeDee, the loud, “trashy one” and Brittany Pellegrin rounds out the cast as Tonya, the naive youth, who wants to be a real actress just like Fay Wray.
According to Crochet, in this character-driven performance we learn about each actress through the music, which changes the dynamics of this 90-minute production from a traditional play to a fun, bawdy revue.
“Each one of them has a signature song that kind of tells about their character,” the director explained. “It’s more like a revue than a straight play because it has a very loose story line through it. It’s more about showcasing the talents of these once very famous [women]. They used to work a lot and they keep talking about if someone would just call them, they are available. So it’s more of a promotional thing for them.”
With songs such as Tonya’s “I Want to be Like Fay Wray,” Bianca’s “I’m Alright Momma,” and screen veteran Nadine’s “Still In Demand,” it will be hard for any music lover not to enjoy this entertaining array of tunes.
“It’s actually a mix of music. There are ballads. There’s one with a ’50s beat to it, as well as some chorus numbers and country. It’s a little bit of a lot of different types of music,” Crochet explained, adding that with almost every musical style change, comes a costume change.
Donna Benda, who has been a LePetit board member for 35 years, is the costume designer for the show. Local vocal and piano teacher, Rachel Klaus, is the music director and accompanist.
‘Scream Queens: The Musical’
Where: LePetit Theatre de Terrebonne, 7829 Main St., Houma
When: July 14-31 (excluding Mondays and Tuesday) at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays, 2 p.m.
Cost: $12 general admission
For More Info: (985) 876-4278 or houmalittletheatre.com
