February sizzles with “50 Shades! The Musical Parody,” a campy, off-Broadway comedy that pokes fun at the popular erotic novel “Fifty Shades of Grey.” It has crazy song numbers and hilarious dialogues peppered with dirty words in Tagalog for extra kink.
The parody, written and directed by American director Albert Samuels, spoofs the best seller by British author E.L. James. “Fifty Shades of Grey” tells the story of Anastasia Steele, a simple, young woman who falls in love with Christian Grey, a hot tycoon and bondage enthusiast who secretly likes sadistic sex, pleasure from pain and helicopters.
Whether one loves or hates the book, Samuels says the audience is guaranteed of a good laugh.
“You don’t even have to read it,” he says.
In 2012, “50 Shades!” premiered in the Fringe arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has since been staged in New York and Las Vegas in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and United Kingdom. It has also been translated into Chinese, German, Dutch, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
Now Manila will have a taste of “50 Shades! The Musical Parody,” which runs Feb. 12-March 1, at Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza, Makati City.
Samuels is directing the Manila shows, coproduced by Vivre Fort Entertainment and 9 Works Theatrical. Robbie Guevara is assistant director; he is helping Samuels inject Pinoy flavor into the punchlines. And to make the play even more relatable to the local audience, the cast is a mix of foreign and Filipino actors.
Book club girls
Running for 69 minutes, “50 Shades! The Musical Parody” opens with three book club members dilly-dallying on which title to read next. The geeky Carol (Bituin Escalante) agrees to read “Fifty Shades of Grey” with friends Pam (Chloe Williamson) and Bev (Kaitlyn Frotton).
Reading “Fifty Shades” opens up nasty fantasies they need to satisfy, and they lose themselves in the adventures of Anna (Karel Marquez/Brenna Wahl) and Christian (Chris Hodgson) as they go through the book.
Completing the cast are Julz Savard, Greg Kata, Casey Renee Rogers, Isaac Saleh, Lorenz Martinez and George Schulze.
“Women like the idea of being swept off their feet by a knight in shining armor. Someone who is handsome, a bit dark, and very, very rich,” explains Samuels. “I’ve read the book three times; it’s so badly written, but there is obviously something in the story that appeals to people. It’s the sex, but it doesn’t even happen until the 100th-plus pages!”
He developed jokes around “Fifty Shades” and came up with catchy tunes such as “Open Your Book,” with a line that says: “You can’t say the book is shitty because the author is British, and the British are smarter than us!”
And the ballad “Hole Inside of Me,” in which a virgin Anna sings: “There’s a hole inside of me that I need to fill, a yearning down there, a spring that needs to be drilled.”
Other songs include “How Much Can I Take?” and “I Don’t Make Love.”
For the Titas of Manila
Guevara adds that while costumes have a lot of leather and lace, there’s won’t be any nudity.
“It’s sexy but not offensive; we don’t go personal,” he explains. “It’s so funny that you’ll forgive the naughtiness.”
“It’s for the Titas of Manila, but guys are also in for some raunchy fun,” adds executive director Santi Santamaria. “I read the book! My wife coaxed me into reading it and I also watched the movie; ‘50 Shades!’ is risqué but entertaining.”
Women make up majority of “50 Shades,” Samuels adds, which isn’t surprising since the book is called “mommy porn.” It’s also usual to see panties thrown on stage, according to the Las Vegas cast. And as expected, “50 Shades!” is recommended for the adult crowd.
“It sounds so cornball, but being sexy is really feeling it inside,” says Samuels. “The musical celebrates sexuality. You will have so much fun, and you feel so sexy after watching it.”
“50 Shades! The Musical Parody” runs Feb. 12-March 1 at Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza, Makati City. Call 4706956; visit www.50shadesmanila.com. VIP ticket includes meet and greet with the cast after the show.