Staged Parody of 'E.T.' At Seattle's Re-bar

Ian Bell's Brown Derby Series is back at Seattle's Re-bar with a hilarious staged reading of the 80's classic, "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" for three performances only.  Now, let's be clear, this is NOT the same family friendly story you saw when you were a kid.  This story has been twisted and warped with hysterical results in an adaptation by Bell (who also serves as the narrator for the evening).  This is the familiar tale of an alien trapped on earth and befriended by a little boy but sprinkled on top with a heaping helping of drag queens, horrifying sexual situations and Drew Barrymore jokes. 

The brilliant ensemble consists of Joe Randazzo and Freddy Molitch who stop the show several times in multiple roles such as the story's antagonist "Keys" and the wilting flower ET brings back to life, Kim Nyhous as an oh so annoying "Gertie", and Scott Shoemaker and Josh Hartvigson as the overly familiar brothers "Elliot" and "Michael".  Add to this already brilliant ensemble, some outstanding comedic turns from  Nick Garrison as the cougarish "Mary" (the kids' mother) and Jackie Hell as the ever loveable and completely foul mouthed "E.T." with attitude.  To round out the cast, the saga is wonderfully told to us by Ian Bell with a devilish lilt in his voice.  The actors never once forget what they are doing to this classic children's tale and they do it to it with glee and at a break neck pace.  I think the only times the laughs stopped during the performance were when they were replaced by a collective groan from the audience over a bad pun or utterly distasteful remark.  But that is not to say that the magic and wonderment of this story has been lost.  Not by a long shot.  We still have the iconic moments that catapulted this film into cinema history (although Bell's group did not have the aid of Industrial Light and Magic).  But those moments have now been (as they say in the show) "rode hard and put away wet". 

This is not Bell's first installment of "Ridiculously Staged Readings of Your Favorite Screenplays".  They recently put on a send up of "The Silence of the Lambs" and their next victim ... er ... honoree will be "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle".  And, personally, I can't wait.  It may be crude and crass and over the top, but who ever said that has to be a bad thing?

And let me tell you, you will never be able to watch the movie the same way again.  But with this out there, who cares?  E.T. may want to phone home but after seeing this, you'll want to phone all your friends and tell them to get to Re-bar before this one gets away.

Ian Bell's Brown Derby presents "E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial" is playing at Seattle's Re-bar (1114 Howell Street) through June 25th.  Admission is $14 at the door (cash only) and no reservations are accepted.  The show begins at 8PM but the doors open at 7PM.  And this is a bar so you must be 21 and up to attend. For more information you can visit Ian Bell's Brown Derby Series Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=61314897708.

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