"The Blue Lagoon: A Musical" Will Soon Make a Splash on the New York Stage.
"The Blue Lagoon: A Musical," a subversively funny take on the classic tale of shipwrecked teen cousins in lust, will open on July 22 at the Producers' Club Grand Theater in Manhattan. The show is slated for four performances as part of International CringeFest, a three-week celebration of naughtily bad plays, musicals and films.
"The Blue Lagoon: A Musical" is based on Henry de Vere Stacpoole's 1908 novel "The Blue Lagoon: A Romance," which has inspired several stage and screen adaptations over the years, including the infamous 1980 film starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. The latest incarnation -- featuring book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Padget -- premiered at the 2007 Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C., where it enjoyed a sold-out run and an enthusiastic response from audiences and critics. Nelson Pressley of The Washington Post praised the show for its "lovely melodic themes" and its playful, alternative style: "two goofy performances and an inflatable baby pool as the lagoon in question -- how Fringe is that?"
The New York premiere of "The Blue Lagoon: A Musical" features Shayna Albertson (2008 graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts) as Emmeline and Anthony Johnson (recently on the NETworks North American and Asian tour of "Hairspray") as Richard. The production is directed by Kenny Howard, who is also helming the CringeFest show "Dragness of God and the Naked Holy Ghost," among other off-off-Broadway projects this summer.
"The Blue Lagoon: A Musical" -- anchoring Act 2 of CringeFest's "Dames at Sea" theme night -- will be performed on July 22, July 27, Aug. 1 and Aug. 6 at the Producers' Club Grand Theater, 358 West 44th Street. Curtain is at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 ($15 for students) and are available by phone at 212-242-6036 or online at TheaterMania.com.
For more information about International CringeFest, produced by NY Artists Unlimited, visit NYArtists.org. For more information about "The Blue Lagoon: A Musical," visit JonathanPadget.com.
