The Big Bang (and also the Philadelphia Film Festival plus props to DHS)
Published by Becky S March 28th, 2005 in arts, philadelphia
Attention Philadelphia residents: have you seen The Big Bang? It’s hysterical, and it’s playing at the Kimmel Center’s Innovation Studio through April 10th. Some background:
Have you ever dreamed of getting involved in a big-time Broadway production? Join us in the elegant Park Avenue apartment of Dr. Sid and Sylvia Lipbalm as two wannabe producers, Jed and Boyd (Ben Dibble and Tony Braithwaite), try to line up backers for The Big Bang, the most expensive and lavish Broadway musical ever written. With a budget of $83,000,000, a cast of 318, 6428 costumes and 1400 wigs, this show will depict the entire history of the world - from the formation of the planets, to the building of the pyramid. From Napolean’s France to the present . Adam and Eve, Nefertiti and the slaves, Ceaser, Mrs. Ghandi, Attila, Columbus, Minnehaha, Tokyo Rose, Eva Braun and more.
As prospective investors, the audience gets the royal treatment, including hors d’oeuvres before the show and first dibs on product placement opportunities. The musical numbers were all clever, but my favorite was “Potato,” a heart-wrenching ballad sung by an Irish potato-famine-era farmer to his very last spud.
The Big Bang is a fun night out. It’s been popping up in recent editions of the phillyfunguide.com half-price list, so pay attention and get yourself a bargain.
In other entertainment news, I’ve narrowed my Philadelphia Film Festival picks down to a mere 35 flicks. The damn program guide makes them all sound good, and every year I fall into the trap of seeing many mediocre movies. To those who are silly enough to put me in charge of their festival ticket purchases: I know I said that the film situation would be under control by the end of the weekend. It’s not that I lied. My misstatement was not meant to mischaracterize known facts. Instead, it was premised on an incomplete understanding of the underlying facts at the time the statement was made.*
*Those last two sentences are courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security (page 
. What the DHS needs is a good weblog to showcase its best lines—who wants to plow through an eighty page PDF file? An incomplete understanding of the underlying facts? That is classic stuff. Good work, Department of Homeland Security.
So far, I have a blessedly short list of “want to see”–mostly because I’m basing my choices solely on the titles list.
Karaoke Terror (how could you not?)
Murderball (heard good things about it in EW)
Rittenhouse Square (my hood! And, as it turns out, co-produced by a Mr. Max Raabe, though I’m guessing it’s not Mr. Palast Orchester)
Any relations between that list and the odds of me actually attending the festival are likely to be slim.