Photo Flash: Hell In A Handbag Presents TROGG! A Musical

Hell in a Handbag Production is proud to unleash the fury that is TROGG! A Musical. Loosely based on the final film of legendary actress Joan Crawford, TROG, Hell in a Handbag's Trogg! A Musical adds teenagers, rock and roll, and romance to the mix with Handbag's extra special touch that has made them Chicago's leading purveyors of camp and parody theater.

It's 1967, and Sunset Cove, a sleepy little coastal town in Southern California is rocked to its core when a big, furry monster is discovered in a nearby cave. It's up to the nation's top 'lady anthropologist', Dr. Joan Cannon (David Cerda), to uncover the truth about this mysterious creature. With the help of her trusted maid/paleontologist, Carol Ann (Ed Jones), Dr. Cannon sets out to prove that the creature is an actual prehistoric caveman- a Troglodyte. Standing in their way is Jonas Huntington, Joan's former flame, now a renowned religious author and Mayor of Sunset Cove. Complicating matters further is the budding romance between Joan's headstrong rock and roll loving daughter, Barbara and Jonas's equally strong-willed son, Rex.

TROGG! A Musical is written by Hell in a Handbag Artistic Director, and co-founder, David Cerda (POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical, Rudolph the Red Hosed-Reindeer) and is his first new musical since Caged Dames produced in 2007. Cheryl Snodgrass (POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical, Lady X) and Taylor E. Ross (SCARRIE! The Musical) collaborated with Cerda on the book and music, respectively. Scott Ferguson is directing the project.

Scott Ferguson, is the Artistic Director Theatrebam Chicago, a Founding Collective member of Bailiwick Chicago, and a Lead Artistic Associate with About Face Theater. Says Ferguson, "I am so thrilled to be working with the campy creative geniuses of Hell In A Handbag Productions. I have been in Chicago for a long time now and have admired David Cerda's incredible skill at bringing the art of camp, parody and comedy to the stage in a way that is truly one of its kind. I cannot wait to work on TROGG! and help bring this hilarious world premiere musical to Chicago audiences. In the not so distant future (insert rolling "Star Wars"-style credits here) I will be proud to say that I was part of this classic piece of camp theatre."

"Hell in a Handbag is thrilled that Scott Ferguson is directing TROGG! We've been trying to work together for a while noW. Scott's aesthetic fits Handbag perfectly, and I look forward to creating with him" says David Cerda.

Hell in a Handbag will be returning to The Chopin Theatre, where they had a 4 month run with POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical (Jeff Recommended) . "Owners Zygmunt Dyrkacz and Lela Headd are very supportive and the space is amazing", says Cerda.

See what happens when science clashes with religion, a caveman meets rock and roll and a town learns the true definition of being human in TROGG! A Musical, Hell in a Handbag's first new musical in 4 years!
Digital press photos and available at our website: www.handbagproductions.org

Photo by Rick Aguilar Studios

Elizabeth Lesinski, Chad Ramsey and Alex Grelle

Elizabeth Lesinski and Joshua Peterson

Elizabeth Lesinski and Alex Grelle

Chad Ramsey

David Cerda and Michael S. Miller

Harmony France, Edward Fraim

Megan Keach

Megan Keach

Alex Grelle and Megan Keach

Harmony France, David Cerda, Chad Ramsey, and Ed Jones

Chad Ramsey

Ed Jones

Chad Ramsey

Harmony France

Andrew Swan, Julie Burt-Nichols and Elizabeth Lesinski