BWW Exclusive Details on TUTS Underground's 2013-14 Season

Back in February, when Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) announced their 2013-2014 season, Bruce Lumpkin, TUTS' Artistic Director, gave BroadwayWorld an exclusive heads up about an exciting development that was occurring within the organization. Now TUTS is ready to announce their exhilarating new project, an invigorating and diverse season of fresh, edgy musical theatre called TUTS Underground. This season will run in The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts' intimate Zilkha Hall and feature innovative modern works. According to Bruce Lumpkin, the intended audience for this line up is "a contemporary minded audience, an audience looking for something new, something different than what's been offered." The inaugural season for TUTS Underground will feature four fresh shows that are "not only new, newly done, but newly done for our audiences here." Opening TUTS Underground's first season is the rock musical LIZZIE by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer, Tim Maner, and Alan Steven Hewitt, which runs from October 10-20, 2013. Historically, because of a lack of witnesses, Lizzie Borden was acquitted and ultimately declared innocent. Yet, her legacy has been passed down for generations as the familiar jump rope rhyme: Lizze Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks... and so on. This very rhyme serves as the basis for Steven Cheslik-deMeyer, Tim Maner, and Alan Steven Hewitt's rambunctious musical that imaginatively retells the story of Lizzie Borden, America's favorite Victorian girl and infamous axe-wielding double-murderess.

Why He's Excited: While LIZZIE won't be enjoying its World Premiere in Houston, I am more than thrilled to experience, as Bruce Lumpkin says, LIZZIE's "first major production." Additionally, the writers envision LIZZIE as a staged presentation of a spectacular rock concept album, drawing inspiration from such legendary rock phenomena as Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, KISS, Grace Slick, Heart, Riot Grrls, and more. When these two ingredients are combined, I feel Houston audiences are guaranteed an explosive evening of original musical theatre. Lastly, the two-disc concept album, which will be released by Broadway Records and features Carrie Manolakos as Lizze Borden and Storm Large as Emma Borden, drops just prior to this production's opening night. So, I'm sure the LIZZIE camp and the TUTS camp will be working together to ensure that October 10, 2013 is truly a night to remember!

Why She's Excited: First of all, an edgy rock musical? Count me in! I love shows that veer away from the standard Happy-Go-Lucky narrative, and force us to feel uncomfortable, excited, unnerved, and most importantly something different. I love it! LIZZIE, a rock musical that is chock full of love, betrayal, and murder certainly seems to fit that camp and promises to give us a theatre going experience unlike any other. What I am looking forward to the most is that at the center of this brutal tale of reinvention and redemption is a strong female lead in an unconventional role. Let's face it, we tend to root for the good girls, the pure and the honest. What will we think of a girl like Lizzie? I can't wait to find out.

The second show of this inventive season is Al Samuels, Emily Dorezas, Amanda Blake Davis, Jody Shelton, Ashley Ward, and Dan Wessels' touring production of 50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL, which runs December 17-22, 2013. This spunky and droll musical parody of E. L. James' bestselling novel is heralded as the original Fifty Shades of Grey parody. The show starts at a book club meeting, where a group of women are discussing the notorious erotic page-turner. From there, the musical launches into a comedic romp that has more playful BDSM references and sexy hilarity than you can shake your Fifty Shades of Grey branded Please Sir Flogger at.

Why He's Excited: While I've never read Fifty Shades of Grey and have no plans to, I am not opposed to rolling with laughter while a musical parody of the material entertains me. Likewise, I also always appreciate good humor, and I'm fairly certain this musical will deliver sexually charged humor in the vein of Saturday Night Live, AVENUE Q, and American Pie by the truckload. Also, Bruce Lumpkin has assured me that men will enjoy this show and its brand of comedy because "it's not exclusive by any means."

Why She's Excited: Bow chicka wow wow! Can we say Girl's Night Out? Methinks, it even sounds like a fun date night. All around, I don't think that you can go wrong with 50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL. There is something to be said for turning the holy grail of BDSM books completely on its head and transforming the sex-centered hysteria into something hysterical. And let's face it, music makes everything better. I took a tiny listen to the audio clip of the song "50 Shades!" on the musical's website, and I must admit I'm hooked. With some soaring vocals, it sounds like an over-the-top good time. I am really looking forward to 50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL because you can tell that it will be a night full of humor that is so wrong that you know they've gotten it right.

The final show in the initial TUTS Underground season will be the Tony Nominated musical HANDS ON A HARDBODY. The show has a book by Doug Wright, music by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green, lyrics by Amanda Green, and will be running June 12-22, 2014. Based on the 1997 documentary by the same title, HANDS ON A HARDBODY tells the story of ten contestants vying for a Nissan "hardbody" truck in Longview, Texas. The rules are simple; the last contestant with their hand on the truck wins it. The challenge is that the contest often lasts for days. The musical pits the fictionalized contestants against one another and poignantly reveals the touching and sobering lives of the contestants, a car dealer, and a radio announcer throughout the duration of the "hardbody" contest.

Why He's Excited: In graduate school, I was introduced to the original documentary by one of my absolute best friends and have been enamored with it ever since. Once it was announced, I followed HANDS ON A HARDBODY through its development and production phases for both its World Premiere at La Jolla Playhouse in 2012 and its 2013 Broadway run. Unfortunately, I personally missed both of those critically well-received productions. Now, I am eagerly anticipating TUTS' production of the material. With its Texas ties and soulfully tuneful Country-Western score by Trey Anastasio, the lead singer of Phish, and Amanda Green, I simply cannot wait to see what TUTS does with the show. Lastly, the documentary is astounding because of how deeply it delves into the relatable personalities of the contestants, so I truly feel that the intimacy of Zilkha Hall will make certain that this musical is powerfully impactful.

Why She's Excited: Everything is bigger and better in Texas! Okay, now that I have gotten that cliché out of the way, let it be known that I stand behind that sentiment 100%. I am so excited that TUTS Underground is giving Houstonians the opportunity to see the Tony-Nominated musical HANDS ON A HARDBODY. The original documentary is one of my favorite films. An instant cult classic, it offers a poignantly touching and often very humorous introspective look at the lives of these individuals who desperately go to all odds to be the last one standing with a hand on that brand-new truck. I really feel like TUTS Underground is giving us the best of both worlds by bringing this musical to Houston. We get to see a big-name show in a great intimate venue. Best of all, we get to see a show about ten quirky and relatable Texans which will very likely be played by Texans. Bruce Lumpkin revealed that TUTS is "going to try to do it with totally Texas talent, meaning people from Houston, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth Area." Now really, how exciting is that?

If you purchased tickets to and enjoyed DIXIE'S TUPPERWARE PARTY, you played an integral role in bringing the TUTS Underground season to fruition. Interestingly, Bruce Lumpkin explained that research revealed, "over 50% of the people who came to see that show had never seen a TUTS show before." This is superb news and proves that there is an audience for this kind of groundbreaking and progressive theatre in Houston. After all, experimental and new works is what TUTS Underground is all about. Through your invaluable support, you can assure that TUTS will be able to keep on producing and presenting cutting edge works in Houston.

The 2013-2014 TUTS Underground season will present audiences with four unique and stimulating theatrical experiences. LIZZIE, HANDS ON A HARDBODY, and the unnamed third show will all be locally produced by TUTS, with TUTS presenting the touring production of 50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL. For more information and tickets, please visit http://www.tutsundergound.com or call (713) 558-8887.

All photos courtesy of Theatre Under the Stars.