Psycho Beach Party : September 2008

Monday, September 29, 2008

Psycho Beach Party Movie Trailor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA_G2Ts8xmo

What Does Wikipedia Have to Say About Pyscho Beach?

You can always look to Wikipedia for short answers...

Psycho Beach Party is a 2000 film based on the off-Broadway play of the same name, directed by Robert Lee King. Charles Busch wrote both the original play and the screenplay. As the title suggests, Psycho Beach Party, set in 1962 Malibu Beach, is a parody of 1950s and 1960s beach movies. Besides the obvious references to Gidget and similar early 60s beach movies, the movie also borrows from Alfred Hitchcock movies like Marnie.

Plot
Florence Forrest (Lauren Ambrose), a Gidget-like character, experiences inexplicable blackouts, and fears that she might be the one responsible for a series of mysterious deaths in her beach-side town. The deaths are investigated by Captain Monica Stark (Charles Busch), who also suspects Chicklet's mother (Beth Broderick), Chicklet's best friend Bernadine (Danni Wheeler), surfing guru The Great Kanaka (Thomas Gibson) and B-movie actress Bettina Barnes (Kimberley Davies). Florence is determined to learn to surf, and earns the nickname "Chicklet" from the surfer guys, while developing multiple personalities.

Other characters include university drop-out (and Chicklet's love interest) Starcat (Nicholas Brendon), Swedish exchange student Lars (Matt Keeslar), surfers Yo-Yo (Nick Cornish) and Provoloney (Andrew Levitas), Starcat's girlfriend Marvel Ann (Amy Adams) and the class "queen bee" Rhonda (Kathleen Robertson).

Original Cast
Lauren Ambrose - Florence "Chicklet" Forres
Thomas Gibson - Kanaka
Nicholas Brendon - Starcat
Kimberley Davies - Bettina Barnes
Matt Keeslar - Lars
Charles Busch - Capt. Mornica Stark
Beth Broderick - Ruth Forrest
Danni Wheeler - Bernadine
Nick Cornish - Yo-Yo
Andrew Levitas - Provoloney
Amy Adams - Marvel Ann
Kathleen Robertson - Rhonda

Production

The play was originally entitled Gidget Goes Psychotic, but the title was changed due to concerns about copyright. In the original 1987 production, Charles Busch played the role of Chicklet. Deciding that he might not be believable in the role of a sixteen year old girl ("while I can still manage, with the aid of a sympathetic cameraman, to play a sophisticated 25, 16 would be a stretch"), he added the character of Monica Stark to the movie.

Short Biography of Charles Busch

"Charles Busch is the author and star of such plays as The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, which ran five years and is one of the longest running plays in Off-Broadway history. His play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife ran for 777 performances on Broadway and won Mr. Busch the Outer Circle Critics John Gassner Award and received a Tony nomination for Best Play. He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays, Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2003, Mr. Busch received a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright. Mr. Busch made his directorial debut with the film A Very Serious Person, which premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won an honorable mention. He is also the subject of the documentary film The Lady in Question is Charles Busch. His latest play The Third Story will have its premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse during its 2008-2009 season."
(Biography taken from official website: http://www.charlesbusch.com/)

A Taste of Chicklet

Chicklet Forrest, a teenage tomboy, desperately wants to be part of the surf crowd on Malibu Beach in 1962. One thing getting in her way is her unfortunate tendency towards split personalities. Among them is a black check out girl, an elderly radio talk show hostess, a male model named Steve and the accounting firm of Edelman and Edelman. Her most dangerous alter ego is a sexually voracious vixen named Ann Bowman who has nothing less than world domination on her mind.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Why I Chose "Psycho Beach Party"

Last fall, I directed the world premiere production of “Thousand Kites,” about the prison system. I was very proud of that production, and honored that UNC Asheville was chosen to do the premiere. But when I reached the end of that production, I was beat! I looked at my colleagues and said, “Next year, we have to do a goofy comedy!” The result: “Psycho Beach Party,” a spoof of 1960s surfer films and Hitchcock-style horror flicks that runs October 1-5.

This play is just plain fun, although I think it has something to say as well. The playwright, Charles Busch, wrote this about Psycho beach Party: "What had begun as strictly a spoof of a specific movie and TV series had become a very personal piece of writing. I don’t imagine I’m alone in having experienced as a young person a feeling of being a different person in each facet of my life. My heroine, Chicklet, learns that each of the various roles she plays in life are all part of one being, and that they only make her stronger. It was fascinating for me to realize that all creative writing is “personal.” The campiest theatrical spoof full of movie references could be a revealing self-portrait that others might identify with."

We're having a great time.

Scott Walters
Director