Randy Harrison to Join SILENCE!, 7/18

Beginning next Wednesday, July 18th, Randy Harrison will assume the role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter's nemesis, Dr. Chilton, in Off-Broadway's smash hit SILENCE! The Musical. July 18th also marks the first performance of SILENCE! The Musical at the brand new Elektra Theatre in Times Square, located at 673 Eighth Avenue (at 42nd St.)

Randy Harrison starred as Justin Taylor in all five seasons of the Showtime hit series "Queer as Folk." He also played Boq in Broadway's Wicked. Off-Broadway credits include The Singing Forest (Public Theatre/NYSF), Antony and Cleopatra (Theatre for a New Audience), Edward II (Red Bull Theatre) and A Letter from Ethel Kennedy (MCC). He most recently returned from starring in Red at George Street Playhouse and Cleveland Play House.

Winner of the 2012 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical, SILENCE! The Musical is 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 Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli. After opening on July 9, 2011 to unanimous rave reviews, the show immediately became a sold-out sensation and was selected by Time Magazine as one of the year's Top 5 Musicals. SILENCE! The Musical is currently playing through this Sunday at PS122, 150 First Avenue (at 9th St.)

In the Academy Award-winning film 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 faces her own demons while racing the clock to unlock Lecter's clues before another innocent girl is killed and skinned by Buffalo Bill. The laugh-out-loud wicked satire, SILENCE! The Musical, features a singing chorus of floppy eared lambs narrating the action as Buffalo Bill gleefully dances a hoedown while kidnapping hapless Catherine Martin. Even Dr. Lecter, scary as ever, sings about the life he'd like to lead someday outside the prison walls.

Along with Randy Harrison, the cast of SILENCE! The Musical is headed by "Married with Children" star David Garrison (Hannibal Lecter), Jenn Harris (Clarice Starling) and Stephen Bienskie (Buffalo Bill), along with Ashlee Dupré, Annie Funke, Howard Kaye, Nick McGough, 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. Fueled by a rabid cult following, SILENCE! shattered every box office record at the 2005 FringeNYC Festival, winning the award for Best Musical. SILENCE! The Musical met with further success in London where it garnered ecstatic reviews at the Above The Stag Theatre. Victoria Lang, Rich Affannato and Donna Trinkoff produced the original NYC production.

A long list of luminaries have turned up in the audience at the hit show over the past year including Jodie Foster, Matt Bomer (twice!), Joan Rivers, Jonathan Demme, Kelly Ripa, James Earl Jones, Josh Groban, T.R. Knight, Jonathan Groff, Justin Kirk, Neil Simon, Corbin Bleu, Ben Schwartz, Lisa Lampanelli, Willie Garson, Mario Cantone, Erin Cummings, Linus Roache, Stephen Schwartz, Jeremy Jordan, David LaChapelle, Steven Pasquale, James Lapine, John Kander, Chita Rivera, Georgia Engel, Danny Burstein, Randy Harrison, Donna McKechnie, John Rando, Christian Campbell, Reed Birney, Stephen Flaherty, Barrett Foa, Cady Huffman, Barbara Feldon, Seth Rudetsky, Eden Espinosa, Telly Leung, Daniel Reichard, John Cunningham, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Charlotte d'Amboise, John McDaniel, JohAnna Day, Carol Woods, and Anthony Heald.

SILENCE! The Musical is produced Off-Broadway by Theater Mogul, and the playing schedule at the Elektra Theatre will be Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7 PM, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 3 & 7 PM. Running time is 88 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $25 - $79 and are available by calling 212-352-3101 or through www.SilenceTheMusical.com.