All words and photos: Rachel Eisley
Landless Theater Company uproariously opens their 2011-2012 season with Cannibal the Musical; currently showing at the DCAC theater through December 23, Thursdays through Sundays at 7:30 PM with $25 tickets. A lively must-see this season, Cannibal hilariously begs the question: “to eat or not to eat... your argumentative companions whilst stranded in the desert.” Andrew Lloyd Baughman, the Producing Artistic Director of Landless Theater Company, adapted Cannibal for the stage from the original film, created by South Park’s Trey Parker during his studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Baughman stages a tightly choreographed, energetically acted and vigorously sung production imbued with distinctive Landless flavor; exaggerated slapstick humor complemented by sentimental melodrama, liberally peppered with multilayered social and pop-culture references. The Landless Cannibal stays close to the film in terms of costume and character development, however there are several highlights of the production where the adaptation supersedes the original.
As the horse-loving Alfred Packer, played by the charismatic Patrick M. Doneghy, leads his rag-tag group across the wilderness from Utah to Colorado, they encounter several Native American Indians. In the film these Indians are played by very obviously Japanese actors who also speak Japanese as their dialect. In the Landless version, the head Indian Chief, played by the incredibly versatile Matt Baughman, speaks with a dead-on Russian accent, complete with a lack of pronouns and amazingly authentic pronunciation, while another Indian “dialect” consists of nonsensical phrases referencing current news issues and consumer brands.
Packer’s beloved horse Liane is amusingly played by a plastic version (as opposed to the live horse appearing in the film), her diminutive size heightening the absurdity of Packer’s equine devotion. The story unfolds through a Capote-esque dialogue between Packer and the inquisitive journalist Polly Pry, played by the lovely Stephanie Garcia, as he recounts his trek which resulted in the “to eat or not to eat” dilemma at the very heart of the production.
The silliness of the script’s humor is well positioned against the pseudo gore, although when Packer faces his impending punishment for cannibalism, the mood decidedly tenses until a break of comic relief is delivered by Polly. The Landless production of Cannibal the Musical offers Washington a thoroughly entertaining romp that will keep you laughing until the curtain call as Parker’s witty script perfectly matches the dynamic cast, who effortlessly transition between spot-on song and dance, nimble stage fighting and dynamic dialogue. Give yourself and a loved one the gift of laughter this December by seeing Cannibal the Musical, you won’t regret it!
Previously in Play DC:
- 5/9: PlayDC: The Taming of the Shrew @ Folger Theatre
- 5/3: PlayDC: God of Carnage @ Signature Theatre
- 4/25: PlayDC: "Come Fly Away" @ Kennedy Center
- 4/23: PlayDC: "Strange Interlude" @ Shakespeare Theatre Company
- 4/17: PlayDC: The Washington Ballet's Alice (in Wonderland)!
- 4/10: PlayDC: Long Day's Journey Into Night @ Arena Stage
- 3/22: PHOTOS: Behind The Scenes With PETRUSHKA's Puppeteers
- 3/21: PlayDC: Brother Russia @ Signature Theater
- 3/20: PlayDC: 12 Angry Men @ Keegan Theatre
- 3/19: PLAYDC: Ah, Wilderness! @ Arena Stage
God loves a cheerful giver.
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