Seth Rudetsky as Ted warning of the oncoming disaster(s)
That’s Broadway’s Seth Rudetsky acting and singing rather fabulously in his new show Disaster! A 70s Disaster Movie Musical which opened this week Off-Broadway at St. Luke’s Theatre. The show is a take off on the genre of disaster movies that flooded movie theaters in the 1970s. Seth co-wrote this show with Jack Plotnick and it is funny, funny, funny. These writers looked at the elements that made up disaster films such as The Posiden Adventure, Earthquake, and others and wrote about a supposed night club that is supposed to float on the Hudson River.
The problem is it has been built over an earthquake fault line and of course, it just had to explode on opening night. What follows is the attempts to get off the boat and back onto NYC ground which amazingly does not seem to be affected! It’s all good fun with music from the 70s such as Sky High and Feelings (yes, gulp). Here are a few photos from the show all taken by Jeremy Daniel.
John Tracy Egan as Tony, the owner of the disaster laden night club
Tom Riis Farrell and Mary Testa pre-disaster as the long time loving couple Maury and Shirley
Maury and Shirley after the disaster before Shirley save ’em all!
Jennifer Simard as Sister whose terrible secret is exposed!
Matt Farcher and Haven Burton as the couple who have a past and possibly a future?
“Disaster!” makes use of some good old comedy techniques and methods to tell the story. We see that an earthquake is not enough for this disaster. No, a tidal wave, lack of proper exits on the ship, the arrival of sharks and piranhas, and all sorts of mishaps with the escape routes all follow. What could have been disaster enough now is an even bigger one allowing the audience to remember how outrageous the plots of those old disaster movies really were.
High marks go to the show’s writers for their analysis of the formula used by these movies and the adaptation of that formula to make it work on a live stage. They included elements like the wild discovery of what could cause an earthquake right to the characters that are in the story and then the use of songs to play up how these movies used to be. This show is also a jukebox musical. At times the songs used are placed in such a manner that groans of “oh no” could be heard amongst the laughter. For example, a sister is faced with having to carry her brother who has been injured to the infirmary. As she hoists him over her shoulder, she begins to sing, “The road is long, with many a winding turn” which leads to the song’s title, “He ain’t heavy, He’s my brother.” Yes, groan but it works and it is darn funny to see played out.
The characters contribute to the plot and the hilarity of the situations. Casting for these characters includes Sherz Aletaha, Haven Burton, Paul Castree, Charity Dawson, John Treacy Egan, Saum Eskandani, Matt Farcher, Tom Riis Farrell, Drew Geraci, Ashanti J’Aria, Maggie McDowell, Michele Ragusa, Seth Rudetsky, Robb Sapp, Jennifer Simard, Mary Testa, and Jonah Verdon.
Theater goers will also enjoy some of the special staging effects that are used which adds to the laughs. Items from hand puppets of sharks and piranhas to hand drawn chandeliers to sheets being raised to indicate water rising are both funny and very ingenious.
For those who were listening to pop music in the 70’s, there is a nice array of songs used in a very funny way that totally compliments the plot. Songs such as Hot Stuff, Don’t Bring Me Down, I Am Woman, Alone Again Naturally, Signed Sealed Delivered, Knock On Wood, Daybreak, Sky High, Feelings, and others. The singing is good and the musical accompaniment is also.
For those who like to laugh and enjoy music from the late 60’s – 70’s, Disaster! A 70s Disaster Movie Musical is a good show to see. Currently it is scheduled to play at St. Luke’s Theatre, 308 W. 46th St., New York City on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday nights at 7:30 p.m. and on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are reasonably priced and available via Telecharge – call 212-239-6200 (800-447-7400 outside NYC) or visit disaster.com to purchase tickets online.