World Premiere of SPECIAL Comes to Theatre of NOTE
By: Stephi Wild Dec. 04, 2018
Special is the World Premiere comedy that commemorates the 40th Anniversary of the worst variety show in television history with a behind-the-scenes imagined look of how The Star Wars Holiday Special came to be.
How could it miss? It was riding the coattails of what was at that point the most popular movie of all time. It featured appearances by cast members, including Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. It had great guest stars like Bea Arthur, Harvey Korman, Art Carney and (in holographic form) Jefferson Starship and Diahann Carroll. There was even a cartoon sequence (the first appearance of Boba Fett). The narrative involved the celebration of the Wookiee holiday Life Day (because there's no Christmas in Space), as Chewie's family wants to celebrate despite the intrusion of Imperial Storm Troopers.
What could possibly go wrong?
Everything.
The Love Boat pulled better Nielsen numbers than The Star Wars Holiday Special. CBS never aired it again. You can find bootleg DVDs or see the show on the Internet, but never on your regular TV, cable, or streaming service.
How did it happen? See Special, the play, to find out.
Andrew Osborne is the playwright. He won a Daytime Emmy Award for Discovery Channel's Cash Cab. He's written feature films (On_Line; Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.; Apocalypse Bop, which he also produced and directed), comic books (the Eisner-nominated Blue Estate), a novel (Building Heaven), and a previous play (No Love).
Kerr Seth Lordygan directs. His previous directing credits include No Love; Last Train to Nibroc; and Carrying On. He is also a playwright (Askance; The Hit) and an actor (Lost: The Musical; Outsmarted; Nuclear Family).
The cast for Special includes (in alphabetical order) Paris Benjamin, Alex Elliott-Funk, Lance Guest (The Last Starfighter, Halloween 2), Jennifer Hugus, Rich Lehmann, and Marty Yu.
Want to see something special this holiday season? Then, see Special.
May the Force Bea Arthur.
WHERE: Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028.
WHEN: Previews December 13 at 8:00. Opens Friday, December 14, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. Runs through Sunday, January 13, 2019. Thurs.-Sat. at 8:00, Sun. at 5:00. Also, New Year's Eve, Monday Dec. 31 at 8:00. Dark on Sunday, December 16.
ADMISSION: $25 on Friday and Saturday. $20 on Thursday and Sunday.. New Year's Eve, $35. Preview on December 13, $10.
RESERVATIONS: (800) 838-3006.
ONLINE TICKETING: https://specialtheplay.com/tickets
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