Vestige Group
'Tis the season for 'Gorilla Man'
By Hannah Kenah, Fri., Dec. 5, 2008
This is also the company's first musical, so Gidseg brought Benjamin Wright on board to handle the music direction. She says, "I've learned that if you don't know how to do something, you find somebody who does." What Gidseg does know how to do is mount Vestige's shows in interesting alternative spaces, and Gorilla Man is no exception. It will play at the Creekside Lounge, normally home to rock bands and bar patrons. But that's a pretty apt setting for a rock musical that asks the age-old question: Will Billy the Gorilla Boy fall into the same violent tendencies of his rampaging father, Gorilla Man, or will he choose his better future?
Gidseg thinks audiences will enjoy the show even though her hirsute hero's story isn't the usual yuletide fare. "It has nothing to do with the holidays, but it's one of those feel-good things," she says. "Everyone come out. It's in a bar. Get a drink. Watch people sing and dance!" So if you want an alternative to wisecracking elves and syrupy sentiments, Gorilla Man may be just the warm cup of camp for you. Grab a beer, and tuck in for the terrifying and heartwarming tale of this perplexed primate.
Gorilla Man runs Thursdays-Saturdays, Dec. 4-20, 7:30pm, at the Creekside Lounge. 606 E. Seventh. For more information, visit www.vestigegroup.org.