Randy Harrison in the Berkshires, relaxing between rehearsals. Photo: Larry Murray.

Ed.Note: Believe it or not you can get tickets for Randy’s new show at half price just by following this link and entering your email. Click me Once signed in you can access lots of different shows at big savings.

Beginning next Wednesday, July 18th, Randy Harrison will join his colleague and friend Jenn Harris in the naughty musical based on The Silence of The Lambs, “Silence! The Musical.” When I reviewed it this past winter, I said it was such a hot evening of satire and comedy that it deserved to run forever.

Now with Randy Harrison in it, it might just do that! The other bit of great news is that it is moving uptown to the brand new Elektra Theatre in Times Square, located at 673 Eighth Avenue (at 42nd St.) That makes it more accessible than ever to the fans of the musical who have made it almost a cult, and for out of town fans who have been waiting for Harrison to settle down in one place so they can plan to see him.

Randy Links

Of course, those who know Harrison and his QWAN company know they will take their day off on August 20 (a Monday) to travel to the Berkshires for one night only at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield (Link). . Read all about that in the story we pubished earlier this week. (Click Me) And if you want to know more about this fabulous show, read this review (Click here).

So Who is This Randy Guy, and What IS This Show?

Now about the show and Randy’s part. He will assume the role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s nemesis, Dr. Chilton.

As most of you know, Randy Harrison starred as Justin Taylor for five seasons of the 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.

He has also been a Berkshire regular, appearing with the Berkshire Theatre Festival for the past six summers in works as different as Equus, Endgame, Waiting for Godot and the title role in Tommy the Musical.

Silence! won the 2012 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical, and it 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.

Theater Mogul presents the award-winning Silence! The Musical, created by Jon and Al Kaplan as a parody of the 1991 Academy Award-winning thriller Silence of the Lambs. The project began in 2003 as an internet musical and became so popular that it was turned into a live show. It premiered at the 2005 Fringe Festival, where it won the award for Outstanding Musical. This wickedly amusing satire is strung together by a chorus of fluffy lambs who narrate the action as the creepy killer, Buffalo Bill, steals women to make himself a ladysuit. Meanwhile, the intrepid rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling matches wits with the evil, cannibalistic mastermind Hannibal Lecter to gain information that will help her identify and catch Buffalo Bill. The performers dance and sing their way to a finale that will have you rolling in the aisles and biting your nails at the same time.

It helps to see the film again before seeing the musical, it picks up so many details from the movie, making it even funnier. 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, The show has shattered every box office record at the 2005 Fringe NYC Festival, winning the award for Best Musical. It 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.