Whimsical Productions is presenting the premiere of FOUND! A Musical Parody of “Lost”, an hilarious twist on the famous “stranded island trope” stories with an original script and music written by Madeleine Halls. FOUND! will premiere at the Hellenic Art Theatre in Marrickville, Sydney between 22-24 February 2018.
FOUND! features a dynamic ensemble of characters who crash on a mysterious island after boarding an Oceanic flight bound for L.A. Waiting on the island are the ancient protectors, 2000 year old Jacob and his sister, the living embodiment of evil itself, The Woman in Black.
While they both debate the philosophical questions of humanity, the stranded passengers led by Jack “I’m A Doctor”, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Ben, Juliet, Charlie, Claire, Jin, Sun, Locke and many more each have their own objective and must find a way to survive the island and escape to find their “home.”
Who will survive? That is yet to be found!
FOUND! is the creation of Sydney based writer and musician Madeleine Halls. As well as being a huge fan of the television series “Lost”, Madeleine was inspired by indie parody musicals “Musical of Thrones” (which performed at the Sydney & Adelaide Fringe Festivals) and Starkid Productions “A Very Potter Musical.”
Her story challenges gender and racial stereotypes by ‘flipping’ the motivations and plots of the main characters, introduces the ‘mystical’ and ‘supernatural’ elements early (akin to Shakespeare’s The Tempest) and uses humour as a vehicle to drive the story in surprising directions (think Monty Python’s Spamalot combined with The Book of Mormon.)
Apart from the comedy, Madeleine’s musical score contrasts between the frenzied and upbeat chorus tunes to soulful and melancholic ballads. It is through the music that the characters get to display greater and complex emotional depth.
This show is not just a happy musical!
Artistic Director Melody Duan was keen to produce FOUND! as the first fully staged production of newly established company Whimsical Productions. Melody, a regular member of the Sydney community theatre scene, developed Whimsical Productions (alongside the core team) with the objective to produce theatrical works in the most creative and diverse way possible.
FOUND! was the perfect opportunity for Whimsical Productions to take on the challenge of building a new musical through the use of early script read throughs, introducing some of the songs to intimate audiences, workshopping the characters, fine-tuning the creative process and inviting special guests to mentor and advise.
The hard work of building an original musical comes with its own unique challenges but has proven fruitful with Whimsical Productions being recognised by the Foundation of Young Australians (FYA) Innovation Nation program for its commitment to social change.
As for FOUND! Melody assures the audience that having not seen the television series “Lost” herself, it will not affect the enjoyment of watching FOUND! as it has its own storyline that adult audiences will follow with many memorable musical tunes.
Disclaimer: This musical features scenes with coarse language, sexual content and violence. It is recommended for mature audiences only.
DATES
22-24 February (all performances at 7pm)
For more about Found! A Musical parody of Lost, visit https://www.whimsicalproductions.com.au/found-the-musical
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