Jodie Foster & SILENCE! THE MUSICAL Celebrate Nat'l Film Registry Listing

The 1991 thriller The Silence of the Lambs has just been selected for preservation on the National Film Registry's annual list of 25 "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant films." The movie, which won Oscars in all top five categories, joins such classics on the prestigious 2011 list as Bambi, Forrest Gump and Norma Rae.

On the very same evening that The Silence of the Lambs was inducted into the National Film Registry, the film's star Jodie Foster attended Off-Broadway's SILENCE! The Musical. Although Foster managed to slip into the theatre unnoticed, she was the first to jump to her feet at the end of the show to lead the standing ovation, surprising the entire audience as well as the show's overwhelmed cast. She caught the new hit musical at the urging of her Lambs director Jonathan Demme.

The unauthorized parody of The Silence of the Lambs, with book by Hunter Bell, music & lyrics by Jon and Al Kaplan, and direction & choreography by Christopher Gattelli, is currently playing to sold out crowds at The 9th Space Theatre at Performance Space 122, 150 First Avenue (at 9th St.) SILENCE! The Musical opened July 9, 2011 to unanimous rave reviews and was recently selected by Time Magazine as one of the year's Top 10 Plays and Musicals, along with such lofty company as The Book of Mormon and War Horse.

Originally announced as an eight-week limited engagement, the show's producers extended the run four times to accommodate the overwhelming demand for tickets. SILENCE! The Musical recently celebrated its 100th New York performance.

The original cast recording of SILENCE! The Musical, produced by Michael Croiter and Rich Affannato, is now available in stores and at Amazon.com on the Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records label. Finally, musical comedy fans outside of New York can enjoy the critically acclaimed score, including such song selections as "If I Could Smell Her C---" and "Put the F--king Lotion in the Basket."

In the Academy Award-winning Best Picture, The Silence of the Lambs, rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling matches wits with the brilliant but insane cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, to catch the serial killer known only as Buffalo Bill. Clarice must face her own demons and race the clock to unlock Lecter's clues before another innocent girl is killed and skinned by Bill. It's a hair-raising thriller that's kept countless millions on The Edge of their seats and permeated the pop lexicon with delightfully creepy quotes like "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti" and of course "It places the lotion in the basket." At long last, this delicate symphony of suspense has been turned on its ear and retold in the only way it can be – as a musical. A singing chorus of floppy eared lambs narrates the action; Buffalo Bill gleefully dances a hoedown while kidnapping hapless Catherine Martin; and even Dr. Lecter, scary as ever, sings about the life he'd like to lead someday outside the prison walls.

David Garrison (Hannibal Lecter), Jenn Harris (Clarice Starling) and Stephen Bienskie (Buffalo Bill) head the cast of SILENCE! The Musical, which also features Callan Bergmann, Harry Bouvy, Ashlee Dupré, Deidre Goodwin, Howard Kaye, Topher Nuccio, Pamela Bob, and Doug Trapp. Music Supervisor is Mark Hartman, with orchestrations by Brian J. Nash.

Created by Jon and Al Kaplan in 2002, SILENCE! began as a collection of songs on the internet which immediately attracted a staggering number of fans. The Kaplans' subsequent screenplay SILENCE! The Musical was adapted by Hunter Bell into a live stage show, which also featured newly composed songs by the brothers. 

Bookwriter Hunter Bell co-wrote and starred in the Broadway musical [title of show] as well as Now. Here. This. at the Vineyard. Hunter is a co-creator of the web series the [title of show] show, and he recently co-created and wrote a television pilot which has been sold to ABC. Composer/lyricists Jon and Al Kaplan composed the music for two seasons of the animated series Code Monkeys and scored the Syfy Channel film Dinocroc vs. Supergator. They have also written comedy for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards and the 2011 Academy Awards. The Kaplan brothers recently launched a series of viral internet musicals led by their Arnold Schwarzenegger cycle, featuring Conan the Barbarian, Predator, Commando, and more. Director/choreographer Christopher Gattelli choreographed the hit Broadway revival of South Pacific, Godspell, Sunday in the Park With George, 13, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, The Ritz, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. West End: South Pacific, Sunday in the Park With George. Off-Broadway: Altar Boyz, Bat Boy: The Musical and tick, tick… BOOM!

Set design for SILENCE! The Musical is by three-time Tony winner Scott Pask, with costume design by David Kaley, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, and sound design by Carl Casella.

SILENCE! The Musical is produced Off-Broadway by Theater Mogul. The playing schedule is Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 8 PM; Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM; and Sunday at 5 PM. Running time is 89 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $25 - $79 and are available by calling 212-352-3101 or through www.SilenceTheMusical.com.