SILENCE! THE MUSICAL

Silence! The Musical is a show that I had already seen 4X before Randy was ever part of the picture… it’s that good. It has the potential to be the kind of thing that cult followings are made of. I don’t doubt for a minute that I would have seen it again, even if Randy hadn’t joined the cast. But of course having him there just makes everything that much better!

Now this was only Randy’s second show, and along with another actress making her debut , and yet another returning to a role she previously had, combined with working in a new theater on a much smaller stage made the normally well-oiled machine run with just a few squeaks. (Although who knows if anyone besides me would even have noticed??? LOL!) His hair is cut VERY short, especially in the back... and is combed neatly and parted on the side. He has the beard trimmed nicely aorund the jawline, I think in an effort to look a bit older for the part.

You don’t have to be an expert on Silence of the Lambs to enjoy the show, even a cursory knowledge of the story would be enough to get the jokes. In this very irreverent, very bold, most definitely not-for-the-easily-offended musical our heroine Clarice is haunted by the memories of an incident in her childhood… brought to life here in the form of “The Lambs.” Dressed completely in black, with white floppy ears and fluffy hands, complete with little lamb feet made from black spray can caps.

They appear from behind the movable walls, they carry props and clues, they play the extra and most importantly they sing and dance. We first see Randy kneeling on the floor as he pops his head out from behind a screen, places his lamb feet one at a time on the floor then turns his head and ears to the audience and smiles. What an entrance!

His main role of course is as Dr. Chilton… he performs the solo “Baltimore is Quite a Fun Town,” dressed in a cheesy suit and tie, with probably one of the worst looking black wigs ever! His rather sleazy character tries to simultaneously flirt with Clarice, while at the same time relating the horrors of his patient, Hannibal the cannibal. He’s all big grins and eye rolls and winks as he sings and dances around Clarice.

He has two other scenes as Dr. Chilton, one very important one where he interrogates Hannibal… and if you know anything about the movie at all, and you know how Hannibal escapes, you will appreciate the clickety-click of the pen that he waves around in the scene. (He was so forceful with that pen that he broke it and couldn’t get it to clickety-click anymore!)

But just as much fun is watching the singing and dancing Randy-Lamb. From a Bob Fosse-esque dance complete with a bowler hat… to a hoe-down in a bandana and cowboy hat, and Rockettes style FBI SWAT team member, to a 60’s twist dressed as a Redneck in a wool coat and hat… it’s a sight to behold! I don’t think I ever saw Randy dance so much! And he does it amazingly well! Unfortunately, I was sitting at the wrong angle to see the disco dance… his stage position was blocked by other actors!

But that’s not all! The Lambs all have other small roles… Randy appears as hospital security guard, a bug collecting nerd with big thick glasses and goofy grins, a jogging FBI agent in a baseball hat with the opening line, “Nice tits.” He also dresses as a Geisha-Lamb with a bubble maker, (That wouldn’t bubble, LOL!) a lamb trying desperately to help Clarice with a clue, a Sherriff, an FBI agent and even just moving props and people… well you get the idea. There’s a lot of Randy in those 90 minutes!

The theater itself is housed in a huge building that also does Haunted House type tours. The sign for Silence! that’s outside the theater isn’t really by the door. And even though we had printed our tickets, we still had to exchange them for regular tickets at the box office. I think they are still learning how to work in this new theater. There’s a lounge upstairs where you can get food and drink… the place is actually a bit confusing to navigate. But the theater itself is nice, with nice comfy seats.

No pictures to share, as I wasn’t able to wait... Although other fans did, and said that Randy and the cast were enjoying a meal and some cocktails upstairs after the show.

This is a must see show!!!! And it’s only going to get better!