Press Release: San Diego Theater Artists Target International Audience With Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog -Live
With “geeks” and fandom from all over the world descending on San Diego for Comic-Con International, Chinese Pirate Productions(CPP) is gearing up for their July 17th opening of Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog-LIVE in San Diego! CPP has amassed over 2300 fans on Facebook since March, with those numbers continuing to grow at about 150-200 “likes” a week. A tall order for their 16 performance run in the 107 seat 10th Avenue Theatre in Downtown San Diego.
“We have more Facebook fans than we have tickets to sell!” says Director/Producer Andy Lowe. “We’ve been getting feedback from fans from all over the U.S., plus Canada, Australia, China, even one from Sweden!”
Not bad for an independently produced, fully fan driven stage adaptation of an internet musical! The show is adapted from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, a 2008 musical tragicomedy produced exclusively for Internet distribution. It tells the story of Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris-How I Met Your Mother), an aspiring super villain; Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion-Castle), his nemesis; and Penny (Felicia Day- The Guild), their mutual love interest.
Writer/director Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, Dollhouse), his brothers Zack Whedon (a television writer) and Jed Whedon (a composer), and actress Maurissa Tancharoen, wrote the musical during the 2008 WGA writers’ strike. The film earned many awards including a special category Emmy.
This stage production is Directed and adapted by Lowe (former Artistic Director and founder of the San Diego Asian American Repertory Theatre) who has assembled a team of fans and friends, who also happen to be accomplished theatre artists; including musical arrangements and orchestrations by Musical Director Brian Hammond, sets by Scenic Designer David F. Weiner (700 Sundays – La Jolla Playhouse and Broadway), Projection Design by Michael Lowe (YellowFace – Mo’olelo), Lighting design by Chris Rynne (Plaid Tidings – the Old Globe Theatre), Sound Design by Paul Peterson (How the Grinch Stole Christmas-the Old Globe Theatre), costumes by Jannifer Mah (the Crucible – MOXIE/Intrepid), and introducing choreographer Karen Li (UCSD).
“It has been the perfect marriage of my two worlds; theatre and geek-dom!” says Lowe. “This began out of wanting to see more of San Diego represented in all the madness and fun that is Comic-Con, amongst all the hype that Hollywood has been importing! With San Diego being the closet theatre town that it is, I thought this was a great opportunity to showcase what our local arts community has to offer.”
San Diego’s local music scene is also represented. The cast includes Jane Lui, who’s album, “Goodnight Company” was recently nominated for a San Diego Music Award for Best Recording. Lui makes her acting debut in the female lead “Penny,” along-side fellow cast mates Michael Nieto, Susan Hammons, Adina Silva, Claire Kaplan, Karen Li, Zack Wolfe, Thomas Lokensgard, with Michael Minto as the blustery Captain Hammer and Nathan Turner in the title role of Dr. Horrible. (Bios and supplementary videos with information about the entire 40 person production team can be found at: iwanttosingablog.blogspot.com)
“Translating from a computer screen to a live stage is tricky. There’s a lot of sleight-of-hand you have to do to make it work. But we have an incredible cast, an amazing creative team, and we’re supported by craftsmen and artisans from theatre shops around San Diego who are friends and fans who love the source material!” says Lowe.
The production will run July 16 – July 30th as part of Gam3rCon, a Gaming based event taking over the 10th Ave Theatre in Downtown San Diego. Performances during Comic Con week will be performed in repertory with Gam3rs: the Play, the hit one man show, starring and written by Brian Bielawski and co-written/directed by Walter G. Meyer.
For tickets and information go to www.IWantToSingAlong.com
