"Very Merry" starts its LA run tonight!

"Very Merry" starts its LA run tonight! Scientology

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/88997.html Youngsters Play Hollywood Spirituals in A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant 15 Oct 2004

Following sold-out Off-Off-Broadway and Off-Broadway runs last winter, the Obie Award-honored musical A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant opens in Los Angeles, Oct. 15.

The work, featuring a cast of 8 to 12-year-olds, was presented by downtown company Les Freres Corbusier in New York. The Los Angeles run will be co-produced with and at the Powerhouse Theatre for an engagement through Nov. 21.

A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant is a self-proclaimed "bizarre new holiday classic — part avant-garde performance art, part children's theater — based on the actual principles of Scientology and the seriously unbelievable life story of founder L. Ron Hubbard."

"We're excited to take this production to the very center of the Church of Scientology – Los Angeles. Since the whole goal of the show is to imagine how the Scientologists might stage a nativity pageant, there's no better place to try than in their Jerusalem," stated Timbers in a release.

The musical, featuring a book, music and lyrics by Kyle Jarrow, based on a concept by director Alex Timbers, has the children actors portraying the religion's top advocates such as Tom Cruise, Kirstie Alley and John Travolta.

The cast of Pageant features Kristopher Barnett, Jamie Dahlke, Katie Ellis, Nikki Haddad, Jessica Haddad, Chigoziri Ikeme, Kyle Kaplan, Molly Elizabeth Matzke, Anthony Quinonez and Mario Quinonez.

The design team includes David Evans Morris (set), Juliet Chia (lighting) and Jennifer Rogien (costumes).

Kurt Deutsch's Sh-K-Boom Records — who have recorded Broadway's Amour and Off-Broadway's Debbie Does Dallas and The Last Five Years — will release a cast album on Nov. 2. The recording will be available prior to its release on the Sh-K-Boom website (www.sh-k-boom.com) and at performances of the Los Angeles production.

Tickets to A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant at the Powerhouse Theatre, 3116 Second Street (between Rose Ave. and Marine St.) in Santa Monica, CA. For more information, visit www.lesfreres.org. or www.powerhousetheatre.com.

<hr> Subject: Don't Miss "A Very Merry....." It's HOT!
From: "Magoo" <magoo44@att.net>
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2004 06:32:55 GMT

Tonight a bunch of us "SP's" ..both X's and Critics went to see the Show in Santa Monica: "A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant". It is FABULOUS!

If you were planning on going, bring more people. If you weren't.............GO! It's hysterically funny, and SPOT ON.

Honestly, we sat and laughed for an hour straight. It's amazingly accurate, and fantastic how much factual information they get into it, and how utterly funny it is, esp. done by kids.

When arriving, we met 'the mother of Xenu". Later we all went for coffee and said, 'Can you believe we met the MOTHER of Xenu???"

None of us had ever even thought of Xenu having a Mother! (She literally was the Mom of the child who plays Xenu. She introduced herself as "The Mother of Xenu" when I told her I'd been in for 30 years and escaped out 4 years ago).

Truly.............it's one fantastic show, and if you've ever wondered about Scientology, or wanted to get ANYONE you know to understand people who got in, or just about Scientology..... bring them to this show. Here's all the information on it. They sell out fast, so call and get tickets :)

Scientologist Xmas Pageant! http://www.playbill.com/news/article/88997.html

Youngsters Play Hollywood Spirituals in A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant By Ernio Hernandez 15 Oct 2004

Following sold-out Off-Off-Broadway and Off-Broadway runs last winter, the Obie Award-honored musical A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant opens in Los Angeles, Oct. 15.

A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant is a self-proclaimed "bizarre new holiday classic - part avant-garde performance art, part children's theater - based on the actual principles of Scientology and the seriously unbelievable life story of founder L. Ron Hubbard."

"We're excited to take this production to the very center of the Church of Scientology - Los Angeles. Since the whole goal of the show is to imagine how the Scientologists might stage a nativity pageant, there's no better place to try than in their Jerusalem," stated Timbers in a release.

The cast of Pageant features Kristopher Barnett, Jamie Dahlke, Katie Ellis, Nikki Haddad, Jessica Haddad, Chigoziri Ikeme, Kyle Kaplan, Molly Elizabeth Matzke, Anthony Quinonez and Mario Quinonez.

The design team includes David Evans Morris (set), Juliet Chia (lighting) and Jennifer Rogien (costumes).

Kurt Deutsch's Sh-K-Boom Records - who have recorded Broadway's Amour and Off-Broadway's Debbie Does Dallas and The Last Five Years - will release a cast album on Nov. 2. The recording will be available prior to its release on the Sh-K-Boom website (www.sh-k-boom.com) and at performances of the Los Angeles production.

We had a ball meeting the Directors, Producers, the writer, and many of the kids. They were happy to meet people who had actually been in, and get feedback. I told them yes, C of S had sent a phony PI to my home just a few days ago, and "Someone" is breaking into my car almost continuously. Amazed....they thanked us for coming and said: "PLEASE INVITE MORE OF YOUR FRIENDS".

Sooooooooo, you're all invited :) Please don't miss it, I think they're only here for a month. -- Tory/Magoo~Dancing in the Moonlight~ In Scientology for 30 years, out for 4 years and 3 months: X-Sea Org, X-OT 7, X-Grad 4 Flag Trained and Interned Sec Check auditor, X-OSA volunteer for 20 years, X-ED of the Scientology Parishioners League (to "Handle" All Black PR), X-Top Secret OSA Int Internet Mafia until I realized what they were really doing (Stopping Free Speech) and quit soon after for good. Declared SP (SP 6 ^with Cumulative Cluster) Expelled from C of S (Woo hoooo!) Free at Last!

For more info re Scientology, please see: http://www.xenu.net http://www.xenutv.com http://www.torymagoo.org http://www.lermanet.com/cos/toryonosa.htm http://www.altreligionscientology.org

Tory/Magoo~ Burbank, CA (818) 841- 3632 magoo44@att.net

<hr> Subject: Defamer.com plugs Scientology Pageant
From: dst@cs.cmu.edu (Dave Touretzky)
Date: 17 Oct 2004 13:41:20 -0400

From the October 15, 2004 entry at Defamer.com:

Friday 1. For some it's a religion, for the rest of us, a form of entertainment. A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant at the Powerhouse Theatre opens tonight. We really hope the L. Ron squad doesn't show up to rough up the child actors.

http://www.powerhousetheatre.com/

http://www.powerhousetheatre.com/images/now_playing/scientologypic.jpg

No wonder Scientology hates the Internet.

-- Dave Touretzky: "Lafayette Hubbard, SuperStar" http://LisaClause.org http://Stop-Narconon.org

<hr> Subject: LA Weekly Reviews A VERY MERRY UNAUTHORIZED CHILDREN'S SCIENTOLOGY
PAGEANT From: Dilbert Perkins <dilbert.perkins@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 06:33:52 GMT

In addition to this excellent review, the show is also listed under "Pick of the Week, we also recommend".

A VERY MERRY UNAUTHORIZED CHILDREN'S SCIENTOLOGY PAGEANT The eponymous religious cult may seem like a soft target for satire, but the genius of Kyle Jarrow's 50-minute musical, based on a conept by director Alex Timbers, lies in its use of child actors to puncture both Scientology's wild claims and American gullibility. The evening plays out like a comedy about mind control as written by Nathanael West. Kyle Kaplan is charming and kooky as fantasy writer L. Ron Hubbard, whom he portrays from birth through the years he developed Scientology -- a money-making operation whose mythos was clearly a product of Hubbard's own science-fiction imagination. (Steven Mikulan) See Theater feature next week.

<hr> Subject: Theater Review: Children's Scientology Pageant
From: "Android Cat" <androidcat98@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2004 08:30:33 -0400

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=reviewsNews&storyID=6597644 A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant By Paul Birchall

LOS ANGELES (Back Stage) - And a happy L. Ron Hubbbard-mas to you, gentle reader.

For, in playwright/composer Kyle Jarrow's scathing satire of the Scientology movement, 'tis the season for E-meters, engrams, and Thetans.

Jarrow's slyly ironic idea of sending up the tenets of Scientology by staging them as a conventional Christmas pageant is all the more ferocious when you consider that most of the presentation is handled with nary a wink of editorialization. The text contains only facts from the commonly available Scientology texts, and you are left to make your own judgments about the religion's philosophy. Turn one direction, and the show seems like a bona fide Christmas show in honor of Scientology. Turn the other way, and it's a relentless shredding of many of Scientology's ideas.

Director and show conceptualist Alex Timbers has gathered a cast of kids ages 11-13 to recount the Nativity of Mr. Hubbard, which is described with the wide-eyed excitement of any religious history. "This is the story of stories! The tale of tales! The life of L. Ron Hubbard," chirp the little ones, dressed in angelic robes. Hubbard, portrayed by cherubic teen Kyle Kaplan, sweetly enacts the Scientology religion founder's exploits and reveals the evidence that he was touched by superior intelligence, which can be found in his holy books of science fiction, including Battlefield Earth.

The play's core ultimately consists of matter-of-fact descriptions of the fundamental "mysteries" of Scientology, including the psychological gobbledygook surrounding the use of "auditing." There's a jaw-dropping description of the alien Thetans -- the mythological basis for some of Scientology's beliefs. This tale is recounted by a little boy who waddles onto the stage dressed like a little robot; it's hilarious. There's also a funny sequence in which the "suffering of L. Ron" is portrayed as his church is stripped of its religious tax status.

Ultimately, though, the show's juxtaposition of cute kids and oddball -- to an outsider -- Scientology conceits are faintly disturbing. And the final, inevitably creepy image -- the kids are seen holding candles and singing a cheerful song as a huge iron door slams shut in our face -- provides a capstone coda to the show's provocative mix of Christmas-pageant sincerity, Christopher Durang-like irony, and unexpected rage.

Reuters/Back Stage

<hr> Subject: Fwd: The Pageant in LA has the Critics Raving!
From: tikk <trash@tikk.net>
Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 19:12:02 -0400

Passing this along from les freres' mailing list:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recently Les Freres Corbusier’s OBIE-Award Winning A VERY MERRY UNAUTHORIZED CHILDREN’S SCIENTOLOGY PAGEANT made its West Coast Premiere at Los Angeles’ Powerhouse Theatre. Here's what the critics have to say:

The Los Angeles Times says... CRITIC’S CHOICE! An instant cult classic… Threatens the kidneys… Clear-minded subversive purpose with lethally gleeful results… The mix of pastorale, "Dianetics" demo, and Bill Melendez "Peanuts" special leaves irony to its audience, ending on a coup de théâtre that is thrilling and chilling.

Jaw-dropping… Hilarious… A provocative mix of Christmas-pageant sincerity, Christopher Durang-like irony, and unexpected rage. - Backstage West

RECOMMENDED! Genius… Charming and kooky… The evening plays out like a comedy about mind control as written by Nathaniel West. - LA Weekly

One of the most original musicals to appear in Los Angeles in the last couple of years. It would be a shame to miss it… A thoroughly entertaining piece of avant-garde theater… Resembles a trippy Disney cartoon… Pushes the theatrical envelope with controversial, sharply comical, scathing satire. - Daily Breeze

Deft, hilarious, and ultimately chilling… The cast had the opening night audience in the palms of their hands from the get-go, and we roared. Further proof that political theatre needn't be predictable and boring. - ComedyLA

Les Freres Corbusier and The Powerhouse Theatre present A VERY MERRY UNAUTHORIZED CHILDREN’S SCIENTOLOGY PAGEANT

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Kyle Jarrow From a Concept by Alex Timbers Directed by Alex Timbers

Now through December 5th! Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 7pm At the Powerhouse Theatre 3116 2nd Street, Santa Monica

$25 General Admission; $20 for Students and Seniors For tickets, call 1-866-OFF-MAIN or visit www.lesfreres.org/tickets For more information, visit www.childrenspageant.org To purchase the original cast recording, visit www.lesfreres.org/album

<hr> Subject: CoS threats used to create publicity
From: janeebeslis@hotmail.com (Praxis)
Date: 1 Nov 2004 05:55:04 -0800

From http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/variety/20041031/va_th_ne/two_hollywood_theater_troops_get_1

Two Hollywood theater troops get religion Sun Oct 31, 4:19 AM ET Theater News - Variety Rob Kendt, STAFF

HOLLYWOOD -- Anyone can make fun of religion, but two L.A. stage productions are taking a different tack. They satirize local controversial beliefs by ironically celebrating them.

<snip>

And in "A Very Merry (Unauthorized) Scientology Pageant," running through Nov. 21 at Santa Monica's Powerhouse Theater after making a splash Off Broadway run last year, a cast of grade-school kids enacts the life and teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard in the straight-faced style of a Nativity play.

Both works intend a critique of their subjects by, in essence, letting them speak for themselves. Of course, the targets don't see it that way.

<snip>

Playwright Kyle Jarrow and director Alex Timbers, creators of the Hubbard pageant, might have feared more serious retaliation from their target, the Church of Scientology. Their New York production sparked a letter from the org mentioning, if not explicitly threatening, legal action. They promptly forwarded it to the New York Times, ensuring greater publicity for the show.

Indeed, Scientology seems determined not to protest the L.A. production too much. Says Chel Stith, a local rep, "This is not litigation material. This is nothing."

Jarrow's script has only one direct quote from Hubbard's writing, skirting copyright infringement issues. But, as with "Hollywood Hell House," "Pageant" presents its subject's beliefs more or less straight.

"Almost all the information in the show is taken from their own literature," explains Timbers. "We thought that the best way to satirize the Church of Scientology was to let the church speak for itself."

Go Back