{"id":2066,"date":"2012-03-25T20:57:01","date_gmt":"2012-03-26T02:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=2066"},"modified":"2012-03-25T21:11:29","modified_gmt":"2012-03-26T03:11:29","slug":"ode-to-the-bs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=2066","title":{"rendered":"Ode To The B’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nTwo cult films will be revived on Columbia theater stages this week: \u201cSatan in High Heels\u201d at Trustus Theatre Monday and \u201c Plan 9 From Outer Space\u201d at Tapp\u2019s Arts Center Thursday through Saturday.<\/p>\n

The productions have different plots and subjects, but there is one common element \u2014 rather, a person \u2014 who binds the plays together: Larry Hembree, Trustus\u2019 new executive director and the former director of Nickelodeon Theatre, has a part in both.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s that great kind of bridge between theater and film,\u201d said Robbie Robertson, who wrote the script for \u201cSatan.\u201d \u201cOnce again, it\u2019s the Larry Hembree show.\u201d
\nGSR4LAC26.4<\/p>\n

The cast of “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” a play that opens Thursday at Trustus.<\/p>\n

\u201cSatan in High Heels\u201d was an early \u201960s sexploitation film that billed itself as showing the most \u201cintimate lustings ever to escape the censors.\u201d How naughty was it?<\/p>\n

\u201cBy today\u2019s standards, it\u2019s something you\u2019d see at 8 o\u2019clock in primetime,\u201d Robertson said.<\/p>\n

He saw the film 12 years ago and was enamored. He bought the film\u2019s original press booklet on eBay, and he\u2019s collected other items. Robertson referred to \u201cSatan\u201d as the original independent film.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis just feels different, almost like a local theater group getting together and saying, \u2018Hey, let\u2019s put on the show,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cIt really works for the film, because a lot of people in the film weren\u2019t actors.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gritty, unrefined cast included Meg Myles, a pinup girl and singer who wanted a movie career. Myles acted as Stacy Kane, a striptease dancer whose path to becoming a top cabaret singer in Manhattan has stops in several bedrooms. Veteran actress Vicky Saye Henderson will play Stacy in the staged reading, which is essentially the play without the sets and costumes. Some of the actors might read from scripts.<\/p>\n

The purpose of the staged reading is to gauge how well the dialogue, pacing and flow of the play works. Robertson thought about remaking the film before realizing it would make a good stage play. Most of the action takes place on one set.<\/p>\n

He has redeveloped scenes and rewritten the ending.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I saw the film, I knew they were going for this ending. They just didn\u2019t get it,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cThere are elements (of the new script) I know that work, but there\u2019s some I need to see how it plays in front of an audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tim Gardner, the co-founder of Mad Monkey, the Vista design company, will direct \u201cSatan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s opened my eyes,\u201d Robertson said of Gardner. \u201cHe\u2019s kind of taken it to a new level, which is what you really want from a director. Tim was the perfect person to direct it because he\u2019s got the film and the theater background.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Monday reading sold out more than a week ago, but there is a waiting list for a March 28 performance. (The theater needs to sell a certain number of tickets to warrant opening the house. If you\u2019d like a seat, call the theater at 803-254-9732.) Robertson said that he and Gardner are committed to doing a full production.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so hard to get new works done locally,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s because it\u2019s all budget driven. Just from a business standpoint, people want to do something they know people will show up to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hembree, if you were wondering, plays a character named Pepe in \u201cSatan.\u201d In \u201cPlan 9,\u201d he\u2019ll play Bela Lugosi, a man who played Dracula in the movies long before starring in several low-budget films directed by Ed Wood.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlan 9 From Outer Space\u201d is Wood\u2019s 1959 film that has been referred to as the worst movie ever made.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, it was very low budget,\u201d said Chris Bickel, an executive producer of the play. \u201cAnd the sets are basically falling apart on screen and the U.F.O.s are hanging by a string. But you\u2019re never bored. The worst movie ever made would be impossible to sit through.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not trying to make fun of the movie. We\u2019re paying tribute to the spunk of Ed Wood.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plot: aliens want to stop humans from developing a weapon that, if used, will destroy the universe. They resurrect the dead to help. Sounds campy, but Bickel says there\u2019s more to Wood\u2019s script.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was trying to make a statement of what was going with the Cold War. It was a reflection of the state of mind, \u2018How much further are we going to take this?\u2019\u2009\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The staging will include three sets at the Tapp\u2019s Arts Center. There will be 100 seats and 100 tickets sold for standing room only for the three performances. Tickets for \u201cPlan 9,\u201d which has more seats available than the sold-out \u201cSatan,\u201d have sold well, a sign that there is a thirst for alternative programming in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a little bit outside of the beaten path of what you typically see on the stage as far as theatrical productions in Columbia,\u201d Bickel said. \u201cThere are some amazing people in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like the always wonderful character actor Gerald Floyd, who Bickel says steals the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can barely make it through rehearsals. He is cracking us up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bickel, who is known for his weekly karaoke parties at Art Bar, as well as his record collection and his always titillating music projects, is also in the play.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never done any acting before,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a lot more work than I thought going into it. It\u2019s been a challenge. But I love it. It\u2019s a step outside of my safety zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doors open at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, with the show starting at 8 p.m. The Whig will provide the cash bar. Tapp\u2019s is at 1644 Main St. $10; plan9live.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

Read more here: http:\/\/www.thestate.com\/2012\/03\/25\/2207591\/arts-planner-state-homage-to-b.html#storylink=cpy