Las Vegas Spotlight  

Cannibal Rising

A scene from Cannibal The Musical (© Insurgo Theater Movement)

Before he helped create the brilliantly vulgar South Park, Trey Parker wrote, directed, and starred in the crazy B-movie Cannibal the Musical, a toe-tapping tribute to Colorado prospector (and convicted cannibal) Alfred Packer. The film was subsequently adapted for the stage, and now the always-subversive Insurgo Theater Movement is bringing it to twisted life at the Onyx Theatre. Get there as fast as you can, because Cannibal the Musical bites the dust on April 5.

This month, there will be Three Days of Rain (March 28-April 13) on the mainstage at the Las Vegas Little Theatre. The Richard Greenberg play (which recently received a high profile Broadway mounting starring Julia Roberts) is about siblings Nan and Walker and their childhood friend Pip, whose fathers were friends and colleagues. The three have gathered at the house that their architect dads designed 35 years earlier, and where Walker hopes to uncover some old family secrets. He thinks he has found what he's looking for, but when the play's second act takes us back in time to introduce us to his parents and Pip's father, we see another side of the story. Tony Blosser, Erica Griffin, and Brandon McClenahan play both the present-day trio and their folks in this production directed by T.J. Larsen.

Since the Iraq War began, there has been no shortage of productions of the Aristophanes' classic Lysistrata (April 4-20), in which the women of Greece determine to withhold sex from their men until they put a stop to their fighting. The latest local production comes from the UNLV Theatre Department in a translation by Douglas Parker.

You might be a redneck if ... your three favorite tenors are Billy Bob, Billy Joe, and Billy Billee, which happen to be the names of the country boys who discover their operatic gifts in the 3 Redneck Tenors - A New Musical Adventure (April 23-28), playing at the Luxor. Written by Matthew Lord, and featuring music arrangements by Craig Bohmler, 3 Redneck Tenors has Broadway and opera-trained actors singing Elvis rockabilly and classic opera arias in this down-home comedy.

Finally, hats off to the Vegas theater community for raising $10,000 in the first annual Las Vegas Easter Bonnet Competition! The money will go to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Nevada's own Saint Therese Center HIV Outreach Center, which provides support to people living with HIV and AIDS. Modeled after the New York theater community's annual Easter celebration, the LV Easter Bonnet Competition brought Vegas shows, entertainers, and businesses together for an afternoon of music and spectacular bonnets. The winner was Star Trek: The Experience for its Easter Borg Bonnet, with Mamma Mia!, Phantom, and Menopause the Musical all placing in the top four.

 

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