This play has won awards from the LA Weekly. This play was seen in a New York Theatre Festival and won a Best Ensemble Award. THIS PLAY has won a SATURN AWARD! Yeah! I didn’t know they gave Saturn Awards for live theatre, either!
Now, many plays can be well-awarded. That doesn’t mean you really want to see them. But this play…THIS play…trust me, you really want to see. I’ll tell you why.
Fellowship! The Musical will be starting its third major run in the LA area beginning April 13th at the Trepany House Theatre, known well to local fans of ReAnimator: The Musical.
If you like comedy with your science-fiction/fantasy (and most Buffy and Firefly fans do), then you really want to see this play. I remember one of my first viewings of this play and who was in the audience? Neil Patrick Harris. Yeah. Mr. Theatre himself. I heard him laugh.
I’ve been told that Amber Benson has seen this play. I know Felicia Day is familiar with this play. She has used 2 of the cast members in her Guild series.
But if the name-dropping doesn’t sway you, here’s this: It’s funny. It’s really, really funny. There are tap-dancing hobbits. The Balrog is a lounge act. Arwen and Aragorn sing a 1980’s Power Ballad. Even the Ringwraiths have a theme song. And the same guy who plays Gandalf also plays Galadriel. Let that just blow your mind.
But going back to the Balrog. The actor playing him, Peter Vogt, is known to even surprise cast an crew with his improvs and ad-libs.
On top of all the funny, these are professional actors and improv artists. And the improv itself is often same-day current. When the play was performed in San Diego during Comic Con several years ago, Elrond was known to mutter to Gandalf that he was missing the BSG panel.
The play, when perfectly executed, is a thing of beauty. When mistakes happen, though, this cast is amazingly deft at creating hilarity out of error. When props go wrong, they work with it. When an actor is on a roll, they extend. When they’re bored with one improv, then you many find that they’ll have a different line there when you see it again. And oh yes. You will want to see it again.
While the play retains it’s home-spun, small-house feel with special effects that involve a strip of flat blue fabric representing the crazy river that the Ringwraiths need to cross, when the four hobbits go into their number “Home’s Never Too Far Away” it quite possibly may bring an endearing tear to your eye.
By the way, being a musical, you may care to know that each singer in the show has an amazing, amazing voice. Except once. And as Roger Rabbit would say: That’s because it’s funny.
If you look at their Facebook page, you will see fans begging, pleading with them to perform the play again. There is good reason for that.
They will be performing every Friday night at 8pm and 11pm from April 13 through the end of June. Tickets are $30. There will be an intermission and it will be almost 2 hours long (the musical, not the intermisson). The actors will come out and meet you at the end of the performance. There will be CDs to purchase at the theatre. You will want one. Bring money. Fellowshipthemusical.com
You know how we are about “Once More with Feeling” and “Doctor Horrible”? You know how we love a funny musical? You know how we have forced all our friends to watch those two shows?
After you see this play, secure another ticket. Because you will want to see it again. And you will want to bring more friends.
