Starting on May 10, "The Empire Strips Back" begins a limited run at the theater between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.
Per the official description: "The classic 'Star Wars' characters are dropped into the world of burlesque. Comedy and striptease, loving detail and hilarious parody… Let us deliver you to the dark side."
Originally from Australia, this "Empire" has been touring around the globe since it first opened in 2011
Tickets go on sale Tuesday at noon. Sign up for info here.
Jabba pic via the "The Empire Strips Back" site
"Stomp" ended its 29-year run at the Orpheum in early January.
According to Cinema Treasures: "The site on which the Orpheum stands is alleged to have been a concert garden as early as the 1880s and, as such, to be one of the oldest continuously operating places of gathering for entertainment events in New York City."
In the 1980s, the Orpheum was well-known for Off-Broadway productions such as "Little Shop of Horrors" in 1982, Sandra Bernhard's "Without You I'm Nothing" in 1988, Eric Bogosian's "Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll" in 1990, John Leguizamo's "Mambo Mouth" in 1991, and David Mamet's "Oleanna" in 1992.
Sounds very stupid and I will definitely not be seeing this show, but it's nice to have new productions here.
ReplyDeleteI love this comment.
DeleteSounds silly and I'm happy to have something new in this space! I'm hoping we get a variety of productions to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteFirst comment is a metaphor on so many levels.
ReplyDeleteDid Chewbacca ever have any clothes on? Also, what does a naked droid look like? Sounds like I'm going!
ReplyDeleteAbout time someone poked some fun at that bloated sacred cow. Talking about the entire franchise, not just that giant slug thing.
ReplyDeleteThe satire started back in the 70’s.https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WYOSZwe8Ibk&t=611s
DeleteYeah sounds stupid; definitely going.
ReplyDeleteUgh...this won't last...Praying!
ReplyDeletethere is a famous saying: "Do, or do not."
ReplyDeletein this case, i do not.
To anonymous March 16, 2023 at 1:45 PM,
ReplyDeleteMel Brooks believed so, too...in 1987.
Sounds so silly I want to go see it
ReplyDeleteThis marks the first time on this site that the comments and the article can both be summarized as "Waaaaaaaaugh!"
ReplyDeleteI will assume that the producer of this
ReplyDeleteshow took the brown acid at Woodstock.
The peak of Star Wars tackiness will always be the 1978 Star Wars Holiday TV Special:
ReplyDelete"The Star Wars Holiday Special was universally lambasted by critics, audiences, and Star Wars fans alike.Jerry Buck, in a November 1978 review for the Associated Press, called the program "bubble gum for the brain".Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club wrote, "I'm not convinced the special wasn't ultimately written and directed by a sentient bag of cocaine." David Hofstede, author of What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History, ranked the holiday special at number one, calling it "the worst two hours of television ever".On the review-aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received 25% approval rating, based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 3.4/10.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Holiday_Special
@Edmund J Dunn - I still have my 1978 bootleg videotape of the special, taped off of TV, local commercials and all. So bad it was good - Carrie Fisher's hair bun color didn't match the hair on her head and it was obvious she was stoned out of her mind, Chewy's father Itchy(?!?!?) watched Diahann Carroll porn, his wife Mala couldn't cook, and his son, Lumpy(double ?!?!?) possessed the sole redeeming feature in the form of a stuffed Bantha doll, which I am amazed Kenner never released as an actual toy. Harrison Ford looked miserable, which considering all he got to do was clap Chewy on the back and proclaim decidedly non-Han-Solo things like "You've saved my skin more times than I can count, pal" or "We'll get you back in time for Life Day, pal" (the holiday that supposedly Chewy has to drop everything and go back to his planet for every year), and stand there looking appreciative while Leia sang - in a decidedly off-key register - some sappy song about Life Day and love and family. Even Boba Fett could not save this debacle, but every year I have a Holiday Special Viewing Party, and every year it's an appreciative crowd. So there ya have it.
ReplyDeleteThe Star Wars that Mel Brooks sent up was just some silly sci-fi cult hit. Today's SW brand represents something far more pervasive and insidious. Look at how much of the content out there in the last 2-3 years is Star Wars based. Between that and the superhero-based content, there is hardly room for anything else these days. It is no wonder that younger generations are increasingly boring and uncreative. Consumerism is out of control now. In our day at least we had a fighting chance. We could always step outside now and then, get away from being a consumer.
ReplyDeleteI would really like to go, but at $54 a ticket, um.. No thanks.
ReplyDeleteThis is the epitome of exploitation. You can tell who ever is programming this theater thinks people just want the lowest common demoninator. I hope we prove them wrong, it doesn't last long, and they program something worthy.
ReplyDelete