Lost The Musical Gives Audiences A Chance To Choose Their Own Ending
In the world of TV fandom, some of the main arguments you hear are “Simpsons vs. Family Guy” and “Breaking Bad vs. The Wire,” but you’ll rarely hear people get more outspoken than they do when asked about Lost and its polarizing ending. (Ducks to avoid chair being thrown across the room.) It’s virtually a pop culture rite of passage to express your opinions on Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse’s faith-based wrap-up, and the parody stage show Lost the Musical: We Have to Go Back is giving fans of the show a chance to change history by picking a different conclusion for the series. This is the dream, people.
Lost the Musical officially opened last Monday—the 10th anniversary of the Lost pilot premiere—at the Lillian Theatre in Hollywood, and its unauthorized approach to one of TV’s most conversation-worthy series has earned favorable reviews all around. The show began life as a successful Kickstarter campaign last month, taking in $8,660 on a $8,150 goal. It was put together by Australian writer Steven Brandon, who wrote the lyrics to the show’s 16 musical numbers, and actor Steven Christopher Parker (Juno), who wrote the book.
“Steven and I are both comedy enthusiasts and we became friends that way,” Parker told THR. “We approached the book from a Book of Mormon point of view and we approached the lyrics from a ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic point of view.” It’s important to aim high, and it’s hard to reach a comedic apex much higher than Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and Weird Al. Check out the Kickstarter video below to give you a better sense of how this works.
The show opens with “Bye Bye, Oceanic 815,” a parody of Don Mclean’s classic track “American Pie,” and then goes on to spoof such radio mainstays as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309 /Jenny.” The latter is “4-8-15-16-23-42/Penny,” and it’s like these songs could have written themselves. Audiences get to (sort of) write their own ending to the show, as people get to vote for an alternative outcome. Their choices are “70s Cartoon,” “80s sci-fi movie” and “90s sitcom.” I’d easily pay to see all three get performed, and if it helps to get you into the theater quicker, part of the show’s proceeds go to the charity Cancer Gets Lost.
Brandon is getting requests from theaters all over the world to bring Lost the Musical to other areas, but it needs to be a success in Hollywood first, and the hope is to attract the eyes and ears of someone who could put more money into the production. But even if this show lives and dies in the same theater, Parker says he’s got his eye on another sci-fi classic for his next project: Back to the Future. Great Scott! Or Great Stevens, even.
You can find Lost the Musical in L.A. up until its final planned show on Sunday, October 26. Remember, if you have to fly to get there, just be sure you choose your flight wisely.
