Original cast recording of Halloween: The Musical, a musical parody of John Carpenter's Halloween. Recorded fall 2010 by the Orlando, FL cast and musicians. Recorded and Mixed by Brandon Knechtel at The Jamnasium, Clermont, Florida.

13 MP3 Songs in this album (29:55) !
Related styles: Easy Listening: Musicals/Broadway, Easy Listening: Musicals, Mood: Fun

People who are interested in Broadway Musicals Meat Loaf Menken and Ashman should consider this download.


Details:
Halloween: The Musical
CAST
(in order of appearance)

Judith Myers/Lynda/Laurieâs Mom/Townfolk â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦.â¦â¦..â¦â¦â¦.JENN WARREN*
Judithâs Boyfriend/Tommy Doyle/Lee Brackett/Townfolkâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦....â¦â¦â¦..JUAN CANTU*
Laurie Strode/Phantom/Townfolkâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦...â¦..HEATHER DELMOTTE
Michael Myers/Laurieâs Dad/Jackie/Taylor/Townfolk/Phantom â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦.â¦......SHAWN WALSH*
Annie Brackett/Phantom/Marion Chambers/Phantom/Townfolk/Sheet Girlâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦...ANDREA STACK*
Bob Simms/Travis/Lonnie/Townfolk/Phantom/Dream Ben Tramerâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦..ROB STACK*
Dr. Sam Loomisâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦.JOHN GRAHAM
Lindsey/Townfolk/Dream Laurie/Teacher/Lezzie/Sheet Girl/Townfolkâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦.â¦â¦ERIN ROUSH*
Little Pumpkinâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦.â¦.â¦.JAKE STACK

*Appearing courtesy of Actorâs Equity

Piano John B. deHaas
Cello Paul Leiner

Recorded and mixed by Brandon Knechtel at the Jamnasium, Clermont, Florida
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ORLANDO WEEKLY
10/21/2010
THE ARTS > LIVE ACTIVE CULTURES

BY SETH KUBERSKY
James Brown is gone, but if they ever crown the Hardest Working Musician In Orlando Show Business, John deHaas has to be in the running. Have you been to the Treasure Tavern dinner show near I-Drive? DeHaas is the music director there five nights a week. Seen Michael Wanzieâs production of [title of show] at the Parliament House? Heâs the deadpan onstage keyboardist. Sung at Universal Citywalkâs Rising Star karaoke club? He probably backed up your baying playing the keys. If youâve been to any attraction in town with a live accompanist, youâve likely heard deHaas play.

So itâs no shock that Orlandoâs most prolific freelance pianist has taken on yet another gig. This time, though, deHaas isnât a hired gun. Instead, heâs calling the shots as the producer/writer/composer ofHalloween: The Musical, a parody of John Carpenterâs 1978 screamer thatâs carving out a two-night run at the Shakes this Friday and Sunday.

DeHaasâ show started with a rejection from the Orlando International Fringe Festival producer Beth Marshall. In 2007, with the All Hallows Fringe fundraiser approaching, John was inspired to pen a 10-minute mini-musical retelling of Halloween, a film that fascinated him with its terrors and plot holes as a kid. Marshall told deHaas that submissions had to be original works, not adapted. So deHaas put the idea in a mental drawer until he mentioned it during a conversation with Wanzie, who offered an October 2009 slot at the Parliament Houseâs Footlights Theater. Despite the fact that he hadnât written the show yet, deHaas agreed. He used downtime during rehearsals for a cruise-ship gig to adapt his original screenplay, deHaas says, and compose a score for piano and cello (his first time writing for that instrument, with the aid of cellist Paul Leiner).
With director Douglas White of D-Squared Productions, deHaas staged six performances at the P-House. That initial production was exceptionally minimal, he says, and starred David Houde as the drag dopplegänger of Jamie Lee Curtis. (Heather Delmotte, an actual woman, plays Laurie Strode in the new production.)

The next step was the 2010 Orlando Fringe Festival, for which deHaas applied and received a United Arts grant. Unfortunately, the Fringe lottery landed him at number nine on the wait-list for the May event, and by March he decided to bow out and begin searching for another venue. DeHaas soon discovered that there arenât many affordable independent venues in town. âSome wanted a ton of money ... some wanted to wait and see if their other clients [would book],â he says.
Salvation arrived via Jamie Mykins, the Lowndes Shakespeare Centerâs operations manager, who discovered a two-day opening in the Margeson Theaterâs calendar. DeHaas is enthused about the opportunity to work in the space, which he calls his ideal venue for the play.

Audiences wanting a foul-mouthed gore-fest should go elsewhere; like the original film, this show is restrained by modern horror standards. âI donât think there are any bad words, [and] the goriest we get is [a victim] pulling out a red scarf when she gets stabbed,â deHaas says. Halloween groupies should get a kick out of seeing John Graham, who played Bob Simms in the original film, returning as the psycho psychiatrist Dr. Loomis, the musicalâs narrator. Grahamâs role has been revised to be less self-referential, but still gives the musicalâs Bobby incessant acting advice, an inside joke that should tickle true fans.

Even if you donât know the original flick, you can appreciate the range of musical styles on display in the score. Songs range from the Meatloaf âBat Out of Hellâ-inspired opening and a Music Man âPut on Your Sunday Bestâ spoof, to girl-group and Motown homages. And, as deHaas learned during his time with theMama Mia national tour, âEvery good musical ends with a mega-mix.â So even though the characters all die, he says they âsomehow end up singingâ an encore medley.

Maybe the biggest mystery is how deHaas gets away with this unauthorized adaptation. Heâs reached out to Carpenter, Halloweenâs original director, and received a tacit nod of approval, but rights were sold to notoriously prickly producers, the Weinstein brothers, years ago. So far, deHaas is following a friendâs advice: âThe best thing to do is do the show and wait until you get sued.â That hasnât happened yet, but if youâre looking for deHaas and canât find him at any of his many gigs, go check the nearest intellectual-property prison.
skubersky@orlandoweekly.com

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INK19
Halloween â The Musical
October 29th, 2009 by carl-gauze
Halloween â The Musical
By John deHaas
Directed and Choreographed by Doug White
Starring John Graham, David Houde, Shawn Walsh
Footlights Theatre, Orlando FL

Who would ever imagine a cello on stage at the Footlights Theatre? It took the composing genius of John deHaas to put it there, even if itâs only in the service of one of the best horror parodies to pass though our darkened woods. You might remember little Mikey Meyers (Walsh) who knifed his big sister for the twin crimes of teen age sex and eating his only Snickers Bar. That was in 1963, and fifteen years of institutional food kept him mum on the motivation even as Dr. Sam Loomis (Graham) worked to understand his twisty little mind. Mike discovers teens are STILL doing it, so he slips away from his captors and pretty quick itâs Spam-in- a-cabin time, only this time laughs fill in for the blood.

Nowadays, any random event becomes the germ of a show with a colon and exclamation point in the title, but this one delivers the internal organs. From opening number âTrick or Treatâ to the boffo closer âMichaelâs Confessionâ, deHaas gives us a solid comedy without falling too deeply into the easy horror movie tropes. The song styles range from show tunes to doo wop and come across sounding surprisingly clean in a room full of drunks screaming love and adoration for David Houde. The cool part of the show was John Graham, the histrionic and Shatneresque Dr Loomis. The original Bob from the first movie, he breaks us out midway through the show to show a highlight reel of his âdying footâ scene and calls the rest of the cast âcarnies.â This Halloween isnât scary and has some rough spots, but the energy and creativity makes it better than any theme park scare night youâll ever visit.

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