RAT SQUONK

[TimNGail@aol.com]

"There may be cheaper ways to blow your mind, but almost all of them are bad 
for you!"

Greetings RATS!!  <sounding the bugle call>

As many of you know, I just got done assistant directing the Broadway 
premiere of SQUONK at the Helen Hayes Theatre in New York.  Simply put, this 
show is different than anything else that is currently running on Broadway, 
and is trying to break the mold of other shows that follow a VERY, VERY tired 
formula for "success" (ala Saturday Night Fever or Footloose):

New York Daily News:
"On Broadway there are two types of folly.  One is the stupidity of producers 
who think they can make a fortune with a bad show.  The other is the glorious 
recklessness of producers who challenge the conventional wisdom about what 
works on the Great White Way.  The arrival at the Helen Hayes of the 
Pittsburgh-based music-theater group Squonk is a very rare example of this 
second kind of insanity.  Brining the show in from Off-Off Broadway may well 
be a suicidal gesture, but it has a touch of magnificence."

PLEASE support this "glorious recklessness" and this "touch of magnificence". 
 Other reviewers were not nearly as kind to Squonk.  There wasn't much said 
specifically about the show.  Most of the hubbub was about an upstart, 
typically Off-Broadway group having the nerve to try and make it on the Great 
White Way.

Flatly, this is the RAT-tiest group ever to hit Broadway... for what THAT'S 
worth... but if you ARE going to support a show on Broadway, or more 
correctly, a CHANGE in what is seen on Broadway, each of you need to support 
this show!!!

Squonk has fallen into the category of all those other shows that a single 
critic (from the Times) is capable of destroying, despite its worth.  This 
show, however, is FAR different than anything else you'll ever see on 
Broadway.

HOW CAN I HELP?

Here's the RAT SCAM - 

Come see a Broadway show at an Off-Broadway price!!!!!   From now until March 
19th, you can get tickets, normally priced at $65, for $25!! 

Promotional seats are available at $25 by calling 947-8844 with Code: SQTOMA3 
 
The theater's best seats are available at $45  with Code: SQDM252
Or print out this offer and bring to the Box Office.
$20 also available (Same-day Rush Seats at the Box office) 
Of course there are always $65 tix as well, at (212)239-6200...if you're one 
of our wealthy pals, you could buy one of these!!

This offer is totally transferable, so PLEASE forward it to AS MANY people as 
you can....   but most importantly.... PLEASE BUY TICKETS and go check them 
out!!!!   This ensemble is one of the most talented and hardest-working 
groups I've ever been a part of, and it'd be a shame to miss them on 
Broadway!!!

So, all of you who forward those other spam e-mails, do me a favor and get 
this one going... I'd love to see this circulated all over the Internet!!!!!  
Who'd a thunk a Broadway show would need this kind of grassroots support, but 
it does, and it deserves it from this bunch of people, which is why I'm 
posting it to you... :)

Thanks SO much for you support!!!!!  

tim
funkopolis


More from The Daily News:
"The music, performed by the cast and sung by the ethereal Jana Losey, is a 
rich brew of Irish techno-folk and Indian melodies, laced with strong dashes 
of Philip Glass, heavy metal and industrial noise.   The action, instead of 
telling a story, evokes a dazzling variety of myths and moods.

For those willing to go with the flow, SQUONK is mezmerizing.  Far from being 
anarchic or self-indulgent, it has the feel of a disciplined, coherent work.

The range of images is matched by the variety of the feelings the show 
evokes.  SQUONK becomes a breathless journey through an ever-changing 
emotional landscape, from humor to horror and from disgust to ravishing 
beauty.   This, then, is a show for those with minds open enough to let in a 
blast of refreshing weirdness.  There may be cheaper ways to blow your mind, 
but almost all of them are bad for you."

Time Out NY   Editor's Pick:      
"SQUONK.    Pittsburgh-based Squonk mixes music with ingenious props,
humor dance, puppetry, flagrant gimmickry, and theatrical traditions from 
across the globe.  You won't want to leave their Grimm's fairy-tale world... 
Squonk is a fun-filled feast for the ears and the eyes in every way possible 
- the perfect banquet, with not one dish lacking flavor, texture or fun."