Interview: 6 Questions & a Plug with SILENCE! THE MUSICAL's Ryan London Levin

Just as you might expect from a director and company who brought you the area premieres of BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL, EVIL DEAD: THE MUSICAL and JERRY SPRINGER: THE OPERA, Bitter Boy Productions (Steven Meerdink) and Minneapolis Musical Theatre (MMT) united for the Twin Cities area premiere of the Off-Broadway, award-winning SILENCE! THE MUSICAL, opening Feb. 12, 2016, at The Lab Theater in Minneapolis' North Loop. Meerdink co-founded MMT but left the company in 2014 for a potential move to the West coast. With fond memories of a NYC production of SILENCE!, Meerdink brought it home to Minneapolis.

Fueled by a rabid cult following since the songs debuted online in 2002, SILENCE! was expanded into a live stage show and shattered every box-office record at the 2005 Fringe NYC Festival.

The "unauthorized" parody based on the Academy Award-winning film, The Silence of the Lambs. Rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling (Emily Jabas) matches wits with the brilliant but insane cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Tim Kuehl) in order to catch the serial killer known as Buffalo Bill (Ryan London Levin).

Levin took a few minutes from his murderous spree (on stage, of course) to answer 6 Questions & a Plug:

First, since this is a new and unfamiliar production to most of us Minneapolis people, can you tell us a little about the story line and how closely or not it follows the movie, Silence of the Lambs?

The musical actually follows the movie very closely, Rookie FBI Agent Clarice Starling has to work with the psychotic cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lector to find the whereabouts of a a serial killer known only as Buffalo Bill. This production however adds singing, dancing and a lamb Greek chorus!

You're playing serial killer, Buffalo Bill; since this is also a parody, are you finding humor in this part or playing it pretty straight for the fright-factor?

I have found silliness with character, but I think I'm doing my best to play him straight, he just happens to be living in the reality of a musical theater. You take a character like this who is iconic for his actions and the way he talks, set it to a hoe-down-like song called "Are you about a Size 14" and you get something pretty hilarious.

What is your favorite part of doing this musical, whether it's a song, your acting partners, bringing a new work to the Twin Cities -- whatever it is that motivates you?

I love the music of this show, but being with a cast that is so funny and willing to play around (experiment) is definitely my favorite part of the process. This musical has this organic feel to it, each time we perform it's a little different.

What should audiences coming to see this show expect as to humor, scares and the like?

This has a lot of adult humor, along the lines of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's BOOK OF MORMON and AVENUE Q. People shouldn't worry about being scared when they come see it, we make the really scary/creepy bits all fun and goofy. There's a chance you won't see the movie the same way again.

Can you give readers at BroadwayWorld.com an insider's tip; what is something they should be on the watch for?

The script actually takes lines right out of the film, a lot of that famous dialogue is still there. Fans of the movie will be pleasantly surprised to see all the character nuances we recreated. We also pay homage to other musicals such as NEWSIES, A CHORUS LINE and even THE KING AND I.

What is your training and background in musical theatre?

I took voice training at the MacPhail Center for Music; also I've been raised by a theatre family. It's in the blood, I guess.

Plug your next role -- what's your plan after SILENCE!?

I'll be playing the role of Perchik in Artisty's production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF running April 14 - May 8.

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Ryan London Levin's bio:

Ryan is happy to be working in collaboration with Bitter Boy Productions and Minneapolis Musical Theatre (MMT). In 2012, he worked with MMT playing Gilligan in Gilligan's Island: The Musical. Representative work includes Artistry: Les Miserables, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Brighton Beach Memoirs, Cromulent Shakespeare Company: Romeo and Juliet, Paul Bunyan Playhouse: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Blank Slate Theater's Spring Awakening, HAIR! Upcoming Work: Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof at Artistry.

Photo provided by Minneapolis Musical Theatre.

More information:

SILENCE! THE MUSICAL

Music and Lyrics by Jon & Al Kaplan
Book by Hunter Bell

Direction by Steven Meerdink
Musical direction by Matthew Bear

Playing at The Lab Theater, 700 North 1st Street, Minneapolis, now through March 6, 2016. Tickets are $30-40. Call the Box Office: 612-333-7977 or order online: www.thelabtheater.org/ or www.aboutmmt.org.

NOTE: This production contains adult language and subject matter.