Creature From the Black Lagoon: The Rock Musical!
Posted by: Loren Coleman on July 16th, 2009
“Creature From the Black Lagoon” has risen from the depths of the Amazon — and B-movie lore — and metamorphosed into a new rock ‘n’ roll show at Universal Studios Hollywood.
The original “Creature From the Black Lagoon” was released by Universal in 1954 at the height of the 3-D and horror movie craze. Directed by Jack Arnold and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams and Richard Denning, the cult classic revolved around a geology expedition to the Amazon that discovers a mysterious amphibious “Gill-man” (Ben Chapman on land, Ricou Browning in the water) who falls in love with Kay (Adams), the beautiful girlfriend of one of the scientists.
The film proved so popular that it spawned two sequels: “Revenge of the Creature” and “The Creature Walks Among Us.”
The 25-minute musical attraction, which opened July 1 at Universal, has been updated for the 21st century with some mildly racy jokes and sexual innuendoes….
Universal has announced that a new film version, penned and produced by Gary Ross (“Seabiscuit”), son of Arthur A. Ross, one of the original film’s writers, is in development.
Kay Adams, the “beauty” to Ben Chapman’s “beast,” is shown above in a movie still and below in a lobby card, both used to promote the cinema classic in 1954.
“It’s a different time,” says the 82-year-old Adams, who saw the show last
week. Still, she notes, “It’s amazing the life this film has had.”
* * *
Adams believes the secret to the enduring popularity of “Creature” is the fact that “we have empathy for the creature. As Ben Chapman used to say, ‘the mortals invaded his territory. He didn’t come after us.’ “
Be prepared. The rock musical’s Creature sings. Also, the most impressive stage creation during the show is the massive puppet (23 1/2 feet tall, 32 feet wide) of the Gill-man that appears at the program’s conclusion.
The complete article is here.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
A Creature from the Black Lagoon musical. I suppose the end is truly upon us now. As Dr. Peter Venkman would say “Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together…. mass hysteria!” 🙂
I wonder if he does a soft shoe as part of the act? The claws on the toes could take the place of taps….