FrankenChrist: The Musical!
FrankenChrist: The Musical!
By Thom Mesrobian
Music by Elaine Pechacek
Directed by Mark Hatfield
Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival, Yellow Venue</strong>
Jesus may be coming soon, but after 2000 years even the most devoted are getting antsy. A group of high tech Christian kids (Nathan Bonk, Tyler Conrady and Carly Skubick) decide if He won’t show up, they will remake Him in their own image. This is such a unique idea that the New Age Rat Pack (Frida Soderdahl, Benedict Heaps, and Carlos Leon) decides to do the exact same thing. The sing songs and steal technology from Jurassic Park, and soon we have two competing Christs – one who’s all Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and the other a hippie with COEXIST tattooed on his hiney. It’s all good fun, and the music is pretty decent. There’s the obligatory Andrew Lloyd Weber riff (Franken Christ! Superstar!) but everything else is an original. “Let Your Kingdom Come” has a churchy feel, but by “Virgin Shores” and “We Were Wrong” the show takes on a modern pop feel of upbeat energy and melodic harmonies. “What Have I done?” adds a dreamy dance sequence, and by the end of the show everyone realizes that while messing with Science is dangerous messing around with Divine beings is even more likely to get you spanked all the way to hell.
This production is part of the 2014 Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival. Information on tickets and show times may be found at http://OrlandoFringe.org/
