SILENCEd No More: An 8 Year Long Goal Finally Realized

Photo by Mikki Schaffner

No one would normally accuse Ted Weil of being annoying.  That is, except for Jon & Al Kaplan and Hunter Bell. They’re the folks who wrote SILENCE: THE MUSICAL, an uproarious and crude parody of “Silence of the Lambs.”

Weil saw the show at the New York Fringe Festival in 2005 and immediately fell in love with it.  He knew he wanted to produce it at Falcon Theatre.  And for at least eight years he has called, emailed, bugged, cajoled, prodded, and begged for the rights to produce it for Cincinnati audiences.

And finally – even after his 2015-2016 season was set – his wish was granted.

SILENCE: THE MUSICAL opens Friday, September 25th and I caught a preview performance last night.

All the moments from the film are there; the famous scenes, the great lines, and the iconic characters.  Plus there are some of the most outrageously funny songs, jokes, and characterizations you’ll ever see on stage.

And with a cast featuring standouts like Mike Hall (“Hannibal Lecter”), Brandon Bentley (“Buffalo Bill”), and Lauren Bailey (“Clarice Starling”) how could it be anything less than entertaining?  The ensemble rounds out with Terry Gosdin, Katrina Reynolds, Michael Dean Conley, Jay Myers,  and show stopper Burgess Byrd.

Weil is the artistic director of Falcon.  He also directs this show, as well as serving as sound and lighting designer and headed the set design crew, too (along with managing director Tracy Schoster, stage manager Amanda Miller, Clint Ibele, and Ron Cropper).

Sherry McCamley music directs and plays piano during the show (along with a second set of keys and a drummer).  Tara Williams is the costumer and Maggie Perrino choreographs this strange, but hilarious piece of theatre.

Falcon has somewhat of a reputation for doing irreverent, off beat musicals (“Evil Dead,” “Gilligan’s Island”)  and they do them well.  From what I saw at tonight’s final dress rehearsal, SILENCE is no exception.

Get your tickets now as this show is likely to be very popular – especially once word gets out about how truly funny (and offensive – but in the best way possible) it is.

SILENCE: THE MUSICAL runs Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm through October 10th in Newport, KY at Falcon Theatre.  Click here for more information and tickets.  Mature audiences only; the language is fierce in this one, folks.