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Thrillpeddlers will present a production of a revival of the 1972 Cockettes musical extravaganza Hot Greeks, an original musical by Martin Worman and Richard "Scrumbly" Koldewyn. This show is part of our 3rd annual Theatre of the Ridiculous Revival, which will play in repertory with performances of the long-running hit musical Pears Over Shanghai. Originally produced as a Nocturnal Dream Show and performed at midnight at the Palace Theatre in Chinatown in San Francisco, Hot Greeks was the fabled & fabulous Cockettes' only other scripted book musical besides Pearls Over Shanghai. Hot Greeks is directed by Russell Blackwood, and original Cockette and composer Richard "Scrumbly" Koldewyn serves as Musical Director. The cast includes SF favorite Connie Champagne, and Thrillpeddlers stalwarts Birdie-Bob Watt, and the ever luminescent Michael Soldier as Lysistrata.
Hot Greeks plays as a limited engagement - running only 17 performances - Thurs. (8 pm) and Sun. at (7 pm) from May 2-June 27, 2010. Opening Night (press night)- Sun., May 2 at 7 pm. The program will be presented in repertory with Thrillpeddlers' current production PEARLS OVER SHANGHAI, the Cockettes musical, which will continue to run thru August 1, 2010. Fri. and Sat. - thru June 26, 2010 at 8 pm, in July thru Aug. 1, 2010 Pearls plays Sat. at 8 pm and Sun at 7 pm.Thrillpeddlers' Hypnodrome Theatre is located at 575 10th Street, San Francisco. (Bryant & Division Sts.) Tickets are $30 and are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/104118 or by calling 800/ 838- 3006.The Cockettes were a gender-bending theatrical troupe who not only originated these two shows, but also exerted a profound influence on the culture of our times, from the phenomenon of midnight movies to glitter rock stars and their outrageous fashions.
In Hot Greeks, college rhythm meets the Peloponnesian War as Athens University takes on Sparta State for their annual pigskin showdown. This musical, loosely based on Aristophanes's LYSISTRATA, features the Tri Thigh Sorority girls jiving to the big-band hit parade sounds of the 1940s. The kids sing and dance through the ruins, on their way to consult the Oracle of Delphi In addition, Thrillpeddlers revival of HOT GREEKS will be paired with a floorshow of musical selections from other seminal Cockettes shows including: TINSEL TARTS IN A HOT COMA, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF URANUS (JCU), and VICE PALACE (VP). Divine and Mink Stole who are best known for their work in John Waters' films were featured in these shows and debuted such chestnuts as "A Crab On Your Anus Means Your Loved" (Divine - JCU), and "No Nose Nanook" (Mink - VP). The Floorshow will occur nightly after a brief intermission after the performance of HOT GREEKS.
Thrillpeddlers have been performing their unique brand of horror and fetish theatre in San Francisco since 1991. Under the direction of Russell Blackwood, Thrillpeddlers are continuously engaged in translating, adapting and producing classic plays from the infamous repertoire of Le Théâtre du Grand Guignol and producing other works inspired by the Grand Guignol. The company's SOMA performance venue, The Hypnodrome, is tailor-made for the specific needs of horror theatre, "lights-out" spook show spectacle, multi-act bills, and arts education programs for young people. Inaugurating The Hypnodrome with WELCOME TO THE HYPNODROME in 2004, Thrillpeddlers have gone on to produce wildly popular Grand Guignol bills including BLOOD BUCKET BALLYHOO, HYPNODROME HEAD TRIPS, FLAMING SIN, AUDACIOUS ARTEFACTS and PEARLS OVER SHANGHAI in both San Francisco and New York City's HOWL Festival. Shocktoberfest!!, Thrillpeddlers' annual pageant of terror and titillation, is now in its 10th year and has become a San Francisco Halloween favorite. Prior to that the company's production history includes the American premiere of Clive Barker's FRANKENSTEIN IN LOVE, MONDO ANDRONICUS (selected Best of the 1997 S.F. Fringe Festival), a double-bill of THE MEDIUM and A CRIME IN THE MADHOUSE (in Pretoria, South Africa). Thrillpeddlers has won the Guardian's "Best of the Bay" and, SF Weekly's "Best of San Francisco" Readers' Choice for "Best Theatre Company".
