Creature from the Black Lagoon: The Musical
Encyclopedia
Creature From the Black Lagoon: The Musical was a live performance show formerly located at the Universal Studios Hollywood
theme park in Los Angeles
, California
. It debuted on July 1, 2009, replacing Fear Factor LIVE. As of March 9, 2010 this show was officially closed.
The musical at Universal Studios Hollywood was loosely based on the basic plot of the 1954 Universal movie.
, talking about the Creature
. The premise was that Universal made the film based on a real creature, and a new team of explorers were on a second expedition to investigate, the principals being Kay, Mark & David (all characters which also appeared in the original film).
Aboard the Rita, the Captain (which in this version, is an Amazonian woman - a voo-doo Shirley Bassey
) leads the cast in the opening number, “Black Lagoon.″
Kay vents her romantic frustrations with her fiancé in the second song, “Slay Me.″ The song recreates the famous "swimming sequence" from the original movie, in which Kay swims while the Creature observes her below, tantalized.
The next song is “Prime Evil,″ in which everyone sings about the Creature. To the dismay of the cast, the Creature climbs onto the boat and joins the song.
The Creature kidnaps Kay and takes her back to his lair, which bears a resemblance to an underwater grotto bachelor pad. This is where the Creature and Kay bond during their duet, "Strange New Hunger.″ Mark and David, Kay's fellow scientists, rush in to save Kay. The Creature tells her his name....Gill! He gets shot with a tainted speargun, with results that soon become clear.
Back aboard the Rita, the scientists hear massive footsteps. Turns out the spear that pierced Gill had fallen into a supply of "human growth hormone," and the Creature, now 25 feet high, appears. Kay sings an encore of “Strange New Hunger,″ rising to the level of the Gill's face on a vine. Before he can stop himself, the Creature eats her...and the Captain sums up the unpredictability of love with an encore of "Black Lagoon."
show, the attraction went down for improvements in spring 2007 and early 2008, both failing to outperform their previous versions. Because of this, Universal closed the attraction on August 14, 2008, confirming that it would soon be replaced by a Creature From the Black Lagoon themed show titled Creature From the Black Lagoon- The Musical to open the following Spring. Fred Barton served as composer and co-lyricist, Gerard Alessandrini served as co-lyricist and co-director. Peter Fish provided additional music and Lynne Taylor-Corbett received final credit as choreographer and director. Jonathan Tolins is the scriptwriter, and the production is co-produced by Marc Routh and Broadway Attractions. Due to Lack of Audience interest, "Creature from the Black Lagoon: The Musical" was closed temporarily in mid September. On March 9, 2010, Universal Studios Hollywood revealed that the attraction had been officially closed. On June 26, 2010, the venue reopened with an updated version of the lower lot special effects show entitled Special Effects Stage
.
, Conan the Barbarian, Beetlejuice's Rock and Roll Graveyard Revue, Castle Dracula Live Show, Spider-Man Rocks and Fear Factor Live. The theater has also served as a location for horror/comedy themed shows during the park's Halloween Horror Nights annual event.
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...
theme park in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It debuted on July 1, 2009, replacing Fear Factor LIVE. As of March 9, 2010 this show was officially closed.
The musical at Universal Studios Hollywood was loosely based on the basic plot of the 1954 Universal movie.
Plot
The show began with a clip from The Today Show with Matt LauerMatt Lauer
Matthew Todd "Matt" Lauer . is an American television journalist best known as the host of NBC's The Today Show since 1997. He was previously a news anchor in New York and a local talk-show host in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence and Richmond...
, talking about the Creature
Gill-man
The Creature, sometimes referred to less ambiguously as the Gill-man, is the titular character of the 1954 black-and-white science fiction film Creature from the Black Lagoon and its two sequels Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us . Ricou Browning portrays the underwater...
. The premise was that Universal made the film based on a real creature, and a new team of explorers were on a second expedition to investigate, the principals being Kay, Mark & David (all characters which also appeared in the original film).
Aboard the Rita, the Captain (which in this version, is an Amazonian woman - a voo-doo Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
) leads the cast in the opening number, “Black Lagoon.″
Kay vents her romantic frustrations with her fiancé in the second song, “Slay Me.″ The song recreates the famous "swimming sequence" from the original movie, in which Kay swims while the Creature observes her below, tantalized.
The next song is “Prime Evil,″ in which everyone sings about the Creature. To the dismay of the cast, the Creature climbs onto the boat and joins the song.
The Creature kidnaps Kay and takes her back to his lair, which bears a resemblance to an underwater grotto bachelor pad. This is where the Creature and Kay bond during their duet, "Strange New Hunger.″ Mark and David, Kay's fellow scientists, rush in to save Kay. The Creature tells her his name....Gill! He gets shot with a tainted speargun, with results that soon become clear.
Back aboard the Rita, the scientists hear massive footsteps. Turns out the spear that pierced Gill had fallen into a supply of "human growth hormone," and the Creature, now 25 feet high, appears. Kay sings an encore of “Strange New Hunger,″ rising to the level of the Gill's face on a vine. Before he can stop himself, the Creature eats her...and the Captain sums up the unpredictability of love with an encore of "Black Lagoon."
History
Due to the recent unpopularity of the park's former Fear Factor LiveFear Factor Live
Fear Factor Live is an attraction located at Universal Studios Florida, and previously, Universal Studios Hollywood. Both attractions opened in Spring of 2005. The Hollywood attraction was closed on August 14, 2008 to make way for Creature from the Black Lagoon: The Musical, which opened in Spring...
show, the attraction went down for improvements in spring 2007 and early 2008, both failing to outperform their previous versions. Because of this, Universal closed the attraction on August 14, 2008, confirming that it would soon be replaced by a Creature From the Black Lagoon themed show titled Creature From the Black Lagoon- The Musical to open the following Spring. Fred Barton served as composer and co-lyricist, Gerard Alessandrini served as co-lyricist and co-director. Peter Fish provided additional music and Lynne Taylor-Corbett received final credit as choreographer and director. Jonathan Tolins is the scriptwriter, and the production is co-produced by Marc Routh and Broadway Attractions. Due to Lack of Audience interest, "Creature from the Black Lagoon: The Musical" was closed temporarily in mid September. On March 9, 2010, Universal Studios Hollywood revealed that the attraction had been officially closed. On June 26, 2010, the venue reopened with an updated version of the lower lot special effects show entitled Special Effects Stage
Special Effects Stage
Special Effects Stage is a new attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. The attraction serves as a new version of the park's former Special Effects Stages show, which was located in the Lower Lot area and was closed to make way for Transformers...
.
Location
The show was located in the Castle Theater located in the Upper Lot (Entertainment Center), which has hosted many shows in the park's past including The Land of a Thousand FacesThe Land Of A Thousand Faces
The Land Of A Thousand Faces was a live stage show created for Universal Studios Tour in 1975 by Verne Langdon with Jay Stein and Terry Winnick...
, Conan the Barbarian, Beetlejuice's Rock and Roll Graveyard Revue, Castle Dracula Live Show, Spider-Man Rocks and Fear Factor Live. The theater has also served as a location for horror/comedy themed shows during the park's Halloween Horror Nights annual event.
Construction
The attractions former tenant began demolition in August, 2008, with construction following shortly after the same month. Set design was rumored to begin in October 2008. Construction walls were built around the attraction in December 2008. The show finally opened on July 1, 2009.Closure
As of October 2009, during a performance of Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure for Halloween Horror Nights in the building, parts of the sets caught on fire, and the building had to be evacuated during these incidents so the fire could be put out. This resulted in fire and safety code violations in the building, and it remained closed after Horror Nights, with the show not re-opening. It was scheduled to start performances again in January 2010, but due to lack of audience interest, it was left closed. Pieces of the set are said to be seen in the Tram Garage area. The boat is now a prop in the Special Effects Stage show. On March 9, 2010, the park announced that the show was officially closed.Opening debut
The attraction held its grand opening debut on July 1, 2009. Julia Adams, the leading lady from the original 1954 “Creature from the Black Lagoon”, attended the premiere.See also
- Universal Studios HollywoodUniversal Studios HollywoodUniversal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...
- Creature From the Black LagoonCreature from the Black LagoonCreature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 monster horror film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes...
- Universal Horror
- Universal MonstersUniversal MonstersUniversal Monsters or Universal Horror is the name given to a series of distinctive horror, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Studios from 1923 to 1960...
- Gill-manGill-manThe Creature, sometimes referred to less ambiguously as the Gill-man, is the titular character of the 1954 black-and-white science fiction film Creature from the Black Lagoon and its two sequels Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us . Ricou Browning portrays the underwater...
External links
- Creature From the Black Lagoon- The Musical at Universal Studios HollywoodUniversal Studios HollywoodUniversal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...