Creep show
By MICHAEL SMITH World Scene Writer, 10/29/2004
ABOVE: One of the participants describes 'Poisoned' as 'combination between 'Twilight Zone,' 'Saturday Night Live' and a fetish ball.' Here, Ashley B. Moore struggles with a cockroach problem. BELOW: It's all singing, all dancing and all killing in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre:The Musical!" JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World
Hodge-podge production includes 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre: the Musical'
Something original, something frightening, something hilarious and something completely different -- that's Nightingale Theater in a nutshell.
That's also the idea behind its proprietors' holiday-themed event this Friday and Saturday, making it the place to go for Halloween if you're looking for "Old-Fashioned Poisoned Candy."
If that umbrella title for this night of short-form theater/variety entertainment isn't obscure enough, there's more mystery in a program that promises "Shadow puppetry from Horsemeat Flea Circus! Sex, ketchup and eggs! The premiere of 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre: the Musical!' "
Program participant John Cruncleton says "Maybe a good way to describe it is as a combination between 'Twilight Zone,' 'Saturday Night Live' and a Fetish Ball," Cruncleton said.
Monologues, music from local band Milktruck and more are planned in this night of 15 short pieces, ranging in length from two minutes to 15 minutes and all connected to Halloween in one way or another on this fun night.
"There are some real silly pieces and some real disturbing pieces, some macabre stuff," Cruncleton said. "We want to mix it up."
Whether this group is working under the banner of Nightingale Theater, Midwestern Theater Troupe or F.L.A.M., you can expect most of the usual suspects to be involved. This show is produced by 50 Swats, a writers' collective that includes John Cruncleton, Joseph Gomez, Katrina Lofgren, David Jefferis and Mike Cramton.
"Texas Chainsaw Massacre: the Musical" follows the group's production of "Just Some Good Ol' Boys," another original work in which it weaved together lost episodes of TV cheese "The Dukes of Hazzard" for a reportedly knee-slappingly funny evening.
"This year I said, 'I want to celebrate Halloween,' and everyone got on board," Cruncleton said. "I can see this appealing to anyone, but maybe mostly to a younger set, kind of a rock 'n' roll feel to the evening. That's kind of what we do here."
OLD-FASHIONED POISONED CANDY
Who: 50 Swats
When: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Where: Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St.
Tickets: $8, 583-8487 [As of February 2007, 633-8666]