VIDEO: Christopher Leidenfrost Releases 'One Day More' Parody

When the Marsh family on the other side of the pond released their now famous "One Day More" parody a few months ago, Long Island writer/performer Chris Leidenfrost was crestfallen. He too, had begun work on such a parody. Not only did they beat him to the punch, but it was brilliant! However, after a few days' contemplation, he realized that he might as well return to work on this project, as most of the material was different enough, and he had already reached to some people to participate and didn't want to disappoint them. He thought he'd end up with a few extra voices, but he wound up with a cast of 21 and an additional 8 musicians. The newly released video of "One More Day" is indeed a parody of "One Day More" by Claude-Michel Schönberg (music), and Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel and Herbert Kretzmer (lyrics), featuring new lyrics by Mr. Leidenfrost.

Check out the video!

The goals of the project were threefold. Of course, the first being to spread a little musical comedy laughter during the current situation we all find ourselves in across the country and the globe. The second was to bring together a group of artists that now, thanks to coronavirus, are mostly out of work and unable to bring their craft to the world. (Some of the lyrics reflect that directly: "I'm a self-employed gig worker! All my jobs went up in smoke!) Lastly, Mr. Leidenfrost is hopeful this video will help raise a little awareness and drive donations for two organizations that are truly worth supporting during this time: The Long Island Crisis Center and The Actors Fund.

The Long Island Crisis Center is an organization that provides a 24-hour suicide and crisis-prevention hotline, and is the parent organization of Long Island's oldest LGBTQ+ Youth Services Center, Pride for Youth. The Actors Fund is a nonprofit that provides services to the entertainment community in times of need, including career counseling, social & financial services, and healthcare services including The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.

"This project was two months in the making," says Leidenfrost. "It really snowballed beyond what I ever hoped or dreamed it would be. I had performers commit, drop out, come back, jump on in the last minute, reshoot and rerecord vocals and instruments, and I couldn't be more thankful for all the work everyone contributed to this. They come from 8 different states, plus Canada! It's the performances that really make this video hilarious- and there's so much more material that was just so funny, but I just wasn't able to squeeze in." On the political nature of some of the video, he says, "There's people out there protesting, not wanting to wear a mask or wanting to reopen without proper measures for the sake of their own convenience; so parts of this video are a collective, artistic way of safely counter-protesting and commenting on the absurdity of them all."

Christopher Leidenfrost is a New York based performer, writer, producer and director. His most notable work is "The Greatest Pirate Story Never Told!" an improvised pirate musical that has toured to over 30 states and ran 8 months Off Broadway at the Jerry Orbach Theatre. He is currently co-writing a screen adaptation with his partner, Rick Allen Wilson, of "LaJuana of the Plains," based on a piece of creative non-fiction by Mr. Wilson. More at: www.christopherleidenfrost.com.

"All in all," says Leidenfrost, "I'm hoping that myself and the entire performing arts community can and will be back to work soon. But until then, I hope we stay safe and continue to find ways to perform and share our passions and talents creatively."

www.longislandcrisiscenter.org & www.actorsfund.org

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