Jon & Al Kaplan - two weird musical plays
When we join special agent Jack Bauer in 24: Episode 2, he is mourning the death of his wife, foiling another terrorist plot and whining about torturing people even though he manages to find a way to do it every half hour or so. Even those who enjoy the show, as I did, can’t help but wonder about his paranoid neo-conservative universe centering around a world in which no one ever has to go to the bathroom and you can get anywheres in Los Angeles within five minutes.
Jon and Al Kaplan have managed to create a very funny musical based on the second season of this popular American TV series. Whether you find songs like “I Will Torture You” humorous will probably depend on how well you know the source material but even then you will enjoy some nicely crafted songs with witty lyrics.
The Kaplans have previously composed Silence! an internet musical based on the film Silence of The Lambs. The well-known movie makes this a more accessible choice for a musical and certainly the terrifying themes makes for some delicious parody with or without fava beans. I do find it funny that the most poignant song in the play has a title that assures it will never get any radio play or be recorded by any self-respecting celebrity. The other tracks are all amusingly perverse. It is a bit of a compliment to say I can’t watch the movie without hearing “Put the F—ing Lotion in The Basket” go through my head.
Both internet musicals for better or worse are freely available in 192kbps MP3. If you like Silence! you can purchase the CD from the web site before or after you get psychiatric help.
