Cannibal Rapture Musical: 10 Year Anniversary Reminiscence (2021)

Name about ten famous musicals from, say, the last ninety years: "Show Boat", "Anything Goes", "Oklahoma!", "My Fair Lady", "West Side Story", "Hello, Dolly!", "Fiddler on the Roof", "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Sweeney Todd" and "Les Misérables". I'll add another ten: "The King and I", "The Sound of Music", "Gypsy", "Oliver!", "Hair", "Godspell", "The Rocky Horror Show", "A Chorus Line", "Evita" and "Annie".

"A Chorus Line" performed at the New York Shakespeare Festival became the longest running production in the history of the Broadway musical, until it was beaten by "Cats", which was then beaten by "The Phantom of the Opera". The last two, if you didn't know, were composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Now let's say we name about ten musicals that were less successful: "Allegro", "Me and Juliet" and "Pipe Dream" from Rodgers and Hammerstein who have written some of the finest musicals of all time, "Dude" and "Via Galactica" from the composer of "Hair" which opened and closed within months of each other, "Bring Back Birdie" a musical sequel which was followed by "Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge" which never made it to Broadway, "Legs Diamond" from Australia's own Peter Allen, "Carrie: The Musical" which until the opening of "Dance of the Vampires" in 2002 and "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark" was the biggest commercial flop in Broadway musical history.

"Dance of the Vampires" and "Rebecca" had been tremendously successful in their productions in Austria and Germany, but "Dance" faltered on Broadway after straying too far from the original script and "Rebecca" never even made it in. The story of what happened on "Rebecca" is almost as compelling as the story itself. It's probably not something you want to read about while you're in a bad mood.

All of these musicals had beginnings. All of these musicals were the combination of a company of talents, from composing music and writing lyrics, shaping the book (the story which brings all of the musical elements together), engaging the director who will become the captain of the ship, working with the choreographer, designing the sets and costumes, the lighting and sound, the orchestrations, auditioning the cast, designing the posters and planning the advertising campaign, announcing the opening and the crucial moment where the audience is invited to the very first performance. After that, it's in the lap of the theatre gods.

This is the part where we come in. Somewhere in a regional city in Australia, someone has an ambition to write and produce a new work of musical theatre. Well, that sounds pretty straight forward enough?

I'll put together a check list.

Part 1: come up with an idea and write a story.

Part 2: the script and the lyrics are only going to be the first draft. This can take years, decades even.

Part 3: I'm going to need a composer and if the songs don't work, we're probably going to be in trouble.

Part 4: the composer and the lyricist will then put together some kind of demo for a package.

Part 5: the package will be used to attract a director or a producer or theatre group. This can be extremely difficult. There are successful musicals that probably haven't even been revived.

Part 6: the director and the writing team get together. The work is developed through readings and workshops.

Part 7: the money to perform the musical has to be raised.

Part 8: the cast and the creative team are assembled.

Part 9: the first rehearsal begins.

Part 10: eventually the show has to be moved into the theatre and blocked on a stage. Tech and dress rehearsals can be nightmares.

Part 11: if you're holding previews, an audience begins attending. There are maybe critics in the house.

Part 12: the audience will tell their friends. Word of mouth will spread. The critics will publish their review. 

Part 13: the show could be an artistic success.

Part 14: the show could be a commercial success because it manages to turn a profit.

Part 15: depending on the circumstances, you might find that your show's eligible to be nominated for some kind of award. Your show actually wins that award.

Part 16: a cast album will probably need to be made.

Part 17: the time has come to establish another production. If you're Cameron Mackintosh, for example, this can be like a franchise of musical productions being opened all around the world. They're often similar but this is not always the case. The Melbourne version of "Love Never Dies" was not a remounting of the London original.

Part 18: somebody might be interested in a revival.

Part 19: somebody might be interested in a film, but musical films in general are risky propositions. We all want to do as well as "The Sound of Music". Don’t we?

Wow. Wouldn't it just be easier to do something else instead? It sort of reminds me of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" with the whole world hunting for the golden ticket?

Nevertheless, come opening night at the Potato Shed in Drysdale, summer of 2011, 3 November to be specific, the cast, creative team, crew and audience members are all gathered for the first ever performance of the rock musical "Don Claude Devious: Cannibal Rapture" or "Cannibal Rapture" for short.

I cannot describe the effort that went into this production from all of the people involved, from Adam the composer completing the last of the musical cues during the tech rehearsals, to Carole the director who had staged everything with a meticulousness that almost felt like you might have been rehearsing Shakespeare, to Rob the venue manager of the Potato Shed for believing in it and taking the chance, to the City of Greater Geelong Community Arts Grants Program for awarding the money and those people who wrote supporting letters, to everybody who worked tirelessly backstage, including Kerrie as stage manager, Melissa working on sets, everybody, and to the cast.

The cast were being asked to perform in a story about a boarding school in a town set in the future, where one of the senior students opens a box which unleashes a horde of cannibals who invade the school and the town. There are fires, there are floods, there are vines growing through the bloodied waters of the courtyard. There's rock music inspired by "Bat out of Hell" and "The Dark Side of the Moon". There are villains who want to destroy the world. There are villains who want to conquer it. There are heroes and survivors, passionate monologues, haunting passages of music, ending with an A Cappella reprise of the last major song. There's a song about hair twiddling in the second act inspired by a friend of mine. At any moment, it can fall apart.

By the end of 2011, it had been given a great review from science fiction author and playwright Adrian Sherlock in Entertainment Geelong, along with two Virtual Oscar nominations. It received one of those. It was a production that has been said to have wowed audiences as they walked into the theatre, beholding a painted black and white floor, ivy cuttings and the figure of a church organ, a fountain bird bath and more.

Everything that went into the production somehow combined in just the right way to achieve something that I honestly didn't know would happen in my lifetime. Ten years have passed. The people involved have gone on to many other adventures, including me. Tonight I am looking back in reminiscence, with gratitude and pride for what was seen that early November of 2011.

I also want to mention that this production was dedicated not only to everyone involved with the effort but to the memory of my friend Kelly.

Thank you for reading. I hope this doesn't sound too biased!!!

Ryan.