Magnet Theater Blog: News and Ideas about Comedy, Improv Shows & Classes in NYC

Congratulations to the BRAND NEW MUSICAL MEGAWATT TEAMS!  Both teams premiered Tuesday, March 12th to an incredibly warm Magnet audience.  The new teams are:

THIS JUST IN:  Musical Megawatt shows will now take place at 7, 8,9 & 10pm!  Be sure to check out Musical Megawatt this Tuesday starting at 7pm, and if you can, catch these new teams, they’re pretty special!

Photos by Lisa Flanagan.

“The Narrator” is the tenth installment of The Director Series, a 3-week string of performances wherein a Director selects a cast and presents a different form. This month Michael Martin directs “The Narrator” with musical direction by Frank Spitznagel.

“The Narrator” is a musical improv show wherein a narrator tells a story (aided by the audience’s suggestions) which is then reenacted by the performers on stage.  This is the first Musical Director’s Series we’ve had the pleasure of presenting and we couldn’t be more excited.  Says Director Michael Martin, “rather than doing an improvised musical, we’re doing a musical that is improvised. This means that we’re going for compelling stories with high stakes emotional conflicts to underwrite our funny moments. Audiences should expect a wild ride. Certainly there will be laughter. Possibly there will be tears, and definitely one actor will be in the driver’s seat calling the shots for a completely realized musical narrative.”  Don’t miss opening night, this Thursday at 10pm!

Featuring: Woody Fu, Ross Taylor, Ryan Dunkin, Oscar Montoya, Lorraine Cink, Laura Dlug, Jordan Hirsch, Michael Lutton, Joe Hendel!

More info–>http://www.magnettheater.com/shows/40080-The-Director-Series-The-Narrator

Ladies and Gentleman, it’s HERE!  The Magnet Theater presents The Fourth Annual New York Musical Improv Festival from October 4-7!  Over 100 performers from as far as Toronto, Los Angeles, Chicago and as close as Broadway, will converge on the Magnet Theater stage to create fully improvised musical performances – ranging from traditional musical theatre fare to adrenaline-pumping rap battles.  All performances take place at The Magnet Theater, the center for musical improv study and performance in the U.S.

GAY BOMB: THE MUSICAL will be having its final show this Friday night, June 29th at 8:30pm at the Magnet Theater.  Tickets are going fast, so get them now before the show sells out!  Psssst … if you want discount tickets for $7, use the code “POTUS Felching” when you buy your tickets HERE.

Directed by Michael Martin, with music by Frank Spitznagel.  Book and lyrics by Chris Friden and Steve Whyte.

Starring: Andrew Fafoutakis, Dreagn Foltz, Ben Jones, Michael Lutton, Jen Sanders, TJ Mannix, Oscar Montoya, Dave Tomczak and Woody Fu.

In case you’ve missed the earlier installments of the Magnet Blog’s interview with GAY BOMB co-writer, Steve Whyte, here they are: Part 1 and Part 2.  And now, our third and final installment of the interview.

GAY BOMB: THE MUSICAL opened to a sold-out crowd last Friday, May 4th. The plot was full of twists and turns that we cannot divulge, and the action was so hot that we were unable to obtain pictures of the show from the actual opening night. Instead, an anonymous source supplied us with clandestine photos from a secret GAY BOMB dress rehearsal.

Totally straight baseball players teach us how to slap that ass.

To Gay Bomb, or not to Gay Bomb?

A pivotal and intimate moment

Here is Part 2 of my interview with GAY BOMB: THE MUSICAL co-writer, Steve Whyte.

Magnet Blog:  How do you and your co-writer, Chris Friden, know each other?

Steve Whyte:  Chris and I met at UC-Berkeley. A couple of years after we graduated, we started a weekly comedy/sports TV show on Cal Football and Basketball. It ended up getting picked up by SportsChannel (now FoxSports), and going national. We ran for three years and won an Emmy, and since then we’ve both been involved in various aspects of video production.

MB:  Did you find that your musical improv skills came in handy while writing Gay Bomb?

SW:  Absolutely. I think it definitely guided the rewriting of the screenplay to fit the musical format. Additionally, before we started the rewrite, we ran several improv sessions with members of the cast. Almost everybody in the cast has come up through all of the Magnet’s musical improv classes. So improvising both scenes and songs was something that comes naturally to them, and something that they do every week. It was helpful to see what elements might work well by improvising them first, before sitting down to do the rewrite. It also gave the actors time to get familiar with their characters, so that they had a head start in that department when finally getting a chance to work with the book.

MB:  Neither you nor your co-writer, Chris, identify as LGBTQ. As straight allies, what compelled you two to write GAY BOMB?

SW:  Being a white, straight male, try as I may, I have no idea what it’s like to deal with the injustices that others go through on a daily basis. While both Chris and I have close family members and friends who are LGBTQ, and we try our best to empathize, we don’t truly know what it’s like to experience life as an oppressed minority in a prejudiced society. However, I don’t think that should stop one from trying, and I certainly don’t think it should stop one from speaking out and doing what they can to address these faults in society.

With regards to casting, I cast the people that I thought would fit the roles best, and who were exceptionally funny and talented. There was no thought put into trying to cast all straight or all gay or a certain percentage mix of cast members. As it turns out, I think our cast is close to 50/50. I think it has been nice to have this mix of performers, as it provides helpful feedback and input for the piece from various viewpoints. Interestingly, four of our gay actors play straight characters, and at least two of our straight actors play gay characters. At the end of the day, it’s a bunch of funny, talented improvisers who have been performing together at the Magnet for years, and who are just looking to put on a fun, funny, entertaining, and perhaps even meaningful show.

Thanks, Steve!  We’d like to think that GAY BOMB was one reason why President Obama finally decided to support marriage equality. Go, President Obama!

Catch GAY BOMB on select Mondays and Fridays in May and June at 8:30pm. Tickets can be purchased here. Use the code “POTUS Felching” to get half off the regular ticket price, for all shows, including tonight’s! The code is only good for today, so buy those cheap tickets now!

Fridays: 5/11, 5/18, 5/25, 6/15, 6/22, 6/29
Mondays: 5/21, 6/11, 6/18

Directed by Michael Martin, with music by Frank Spitznagel, and book and lyrics by Chris Friden and Steve Whyte. Starring Andrew Fafoutakis, Dreagn Foltz, Ben Jones, Michael Lutton, Jen Sanders, T.J. Mannix, Oscar Montoya, Dave Tomczak and Woody Fu.

If you are unable to attend the show, or wish to offer continued support, please consider donating to the GAY BOMB kickstarter fundraiser. The creators of the show have accrued significant debt to put this show together, for set design, costumes, rehearsal space, and many other necessities that arise as the show continues its run. The hope is to raise $2,000 more dollars in a week, for a total of $7,000. Please go to the GAY BOMB kickstarter page for more information on the excellent pledge perks.

Stay tuned for the next installment of my interview with Steve Whyte!

Photo credits: Steve Whyte and Woody Fu