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Chester County Press

Not the Messiah

(He's a Very Naughty Boy)

What’s that you say? Monty Python’s Life of Brian performed as an oratorio? It can’t be true. Oh, but yes, it is indeed true! And now this magical experience is coming to the Delaware stage courtesy of Bootless Stageworks. This over-the-top performance will produce deep belly laughs from even the sternest of audience members and is sure to amuse Monty Python fans, classical music aficionados, and absolutely anyone with a sense of humor. Not the Messiah, a spoof of Handel’s oratorio Messiah, tells the tragic tale of Mandy, impregnated by a Roman soldier. She gives birth to Brian - a reluctant revolutionary of the People’s Front of Judea - who falls in love with Judith, gets mistaken for a Messiah, and is arrested by the Romans and sentenced to be crucified. Eccentric music compliments the crazy plot. Described by co-composer Eric Idle as “baroque ‘n’ roll,” the music is a pastiche of styles: pop, Welsh hymns, a naughty Mozart duet, country and western, doo-wop, hip hop, Broadway, Greek chorus, and Bob Dylan (in his mumbling, electric guitar and harmonica phase). “Hail to the Shoe,” “What Have The Romans Ever Done For Us,” “We Love Sheep,” “I Want To Be A Girl” and the classic sing-along “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” are just a few of the glorious musical selections. “It’s lively stuff, to be sure. In true Monty Python fashion, it’s a crazy soup-to-nuts, heavy on the nuts…. There’s bawdy music-hall humour, a touch of Noel Coward cleverness in the lyric…and a range of musical styles from gospel to mariachi. – Colin Eatock, Globe and Mail SOLOISTS Geoff Bruen – Brian Kimberly Christie – Judith Cynthia Ballentine – Mandy (Brian’s Mother) Michael Popovsky – Soldier and Other Baritone-like Characters Justin Walsh – Narrator (a/k/a Eric Idle) Conducted by James W. Fuerst Friday, January 31 @ 7:30 pm Saturday, February 1 @ 7:30 pm Downs Cultural Center @ Ingleside 1005 N. Franklin Street Wilmington, DE 19806 Plenty of free parking. Not the Messiah (He’s A Very Naughty Boy) is presented through special arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide.

Date & Time

Weekly on Friday and Saturday

01/31/2014 through 02/01/2014

7:25PM

Location

Downs Cultural Center at Ingleside - 1005 N. Franklin St., Wilmington, DE, 19806 1005 N. Franklin St. Wilmington 19806 DE US

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