Silence! The Musical is an unauthorized parody of the film The Silence of the Lambs that was a cult hit of the 2005 Fringe NYC Festival, and also wowed London audienceslast year. The book is by HunterBell, the music and lyrics are byJon and Al Kaplan and the direction and choreography is by ChristopherGattelli. Heading the cast areBrent Barrett as Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lecter (Anthony Hopkins in the film)and the brilliant comic actor Jenn Harris as Clarice Starling, the rookie FBIagent (played on screen by Jodie Foster), who is trying to run down serial killerBuffalo Bill, who tends to skin his female victims. I spoke with the ever-engaging Bell.
TOM MURRIN: HiHunter. This is a little differentfor you, writing a book for a play that you won't be performing in.
HUNTER BELL: It's one I'm so passionate about. We got our startwith it in the Fringe 2005. Wethought it was funny, and we almost went off-Broadway, but then we didn't; andthen it popped up in London last year.
TM: How wouldyou describe Silence!?
HB: A terrible,wonderful idea. I think it'shysterically funny. A lot of timeswith these things, people will say, "That's a good joke," or "How funny thatthey would musicalize that." Butour job is to do it well, and I think people will be surprised. A lot of people will have expectations;many will have seen the movie and we want to take them on that ride, so we haveto tell a complete, self-contained story.
TM: How do youget into the story?
HB: ChristopherGattelli, the director, said, "What if we had this traveling troupe whosemission was to musicalize movies, even the most inappropriate ones?" That was our jumping off point for thewhole look of the production. Christopher had this idea of a kind of "elegantminimalism." It's a little bit of,"what you can pack in a van", and that downtown spirit, because it was done outof the Fringe. You will see allyour favorite characters from the movie.It's a small cast of eight or nine. So many folks will do double duty, and there are a lot of costumechanges necessary to create that world.
HB: It startsat a place of love and respect for the original movie; and, when you're writingin a parody world, I'm trying to put in a little spin, a little twist, a littletwinkle in the eye. So, thechallenge is, how do you take these dramatic, intense situations, and pokeholes in them? And, for a lot oftimes, for me, it can be very simple, like, "What else is she thinking about atthat moment?"
HB: There's agreat bit in the film, where Hannibal Lecter is being very perceptive. Clarice compliments him on his mind as sheinterviews him in the basement. In the movie, he dissects her, and is spot on, and describes what shelooks like. We have him say, "Youhave on a brown skirt, and a gray blouse, and a yellow bag." Another time, when Buffalo Bill puts onnight vision goggles, to stalk her in the basement; in our world, it's aViewMaster. We're trying to findlittle moments. In the filmHannibal Lecter draws amazing portraits and paintings. For our purposes, he's a terribleartist. His drawings are like whatyour kid would bring home from kindergarten. And Clarice says, reverently, "You drew these, Doctor?"
TM: I hear youhave singing and dancing lambs. What are some of the songs in your production?HB: The Book ofMormon has upped the game, but we'll give you some excellent examples offilthy songs. There's "If I CouldSmell Her Cunt", a beautiful ballad. And, "Put the Fucking Lotion in the Basket", and "My Daughter IsCatherine", when the Senator sings to the daughter stuck in the well. Oh, we're going there.
Above: Jenn Harris as Clarice Starling, Brent Barrett as Hannibal Lectre and dancing lambs in Silence! The Musical at Theatre 80.
Theatre 80, 80 St. Mark's Place, (just West of 1stAve.), (212) 352-3101 , silencethemusical.com, previews June 24, opens July 11 -Aug. 27, Thurs., 8 p.m., Fri., 8 p.m., Sat., 8 & 10:30 p.m., $25-$65..
