Silence!

A few months ago, I saw the Black Swan parody SWAN!!! and fell deeply, terribly in love with it. Super-silly film parodies are a guilty pleasure of mine, and each year's Fringe Festival can be counted on for at least a small handful. Last year, I caught a super clever one called Jurassic Parq, the lines of which still occasionally get stuck in my head. "Velociraptor in a cage; velociraptor full of rage." They work best, of course, when you've seen the movie. The first one I ever saw, about five years ago, was Silence!, the Silence of the Lambs musical. Happily, it's back for a short run this summer with most of the original cast intact including, most importantly, Jenn Harris as Clarice Starling. The same actress played Nina in SWAN!!!, and frankly should probably be in charge of every parody performance ever. Nailing Jodie Foster's strange West Virginia accent from the movie, making explicit the lesbian undertones with a fellow classmate, and delivering a perfect send-up of the lights out hunt near the end of the movie (with stage lights fully blazing), she has perfect comic timing, a natural knack for mimicry, and the deepest level of commitment. If the world were more fair, she'd be a star.

So listen, I did love this, but I won't lie: it's not the freshest of parodies (the movie is 20 years old), and no one involved seems against going for the easiest and most obvious jokes. But there are flashes of incredible wit and the entire cast is gifted enough to make even the lesser scenes shine. Jeff Hiller is probably one of the best character actors around, and even without a major part leaves a lasting impression. I'm still bummed he didn't get a Tony nod for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. And while Brent Barrett may lack the level of smarmy charm that Anthony Hopkins brought to the role of Hannibal Lecter, he's clearly having a blast on stage, especially during his deeply wonderful solo, "If I Could Smell Her Cunt," accompanied by a dream ballet in which dream Lecter ends up with dream Clarice's naughty bits especially close to his face rather often.

What else is there to say? The chorus of lambs (yup) is delightful, Buffalo Bill gets my favorite number, "It Puts the Fucking Lotion in the Basket," and while it may not be as exciting as it was a few years ago since so many similar shows have come along in the meantime, it's a damn fine way to spend two hours.