Nearly a decade after beginning work on his minimum opus, The Unusual Suspects, Derek has been rumored to take the whimsical musical comedy off the shelves for its annual dusting. But this appears to be something a little more in-depth than the typical re-reading and subsequent disappointment. Derek has been furiously rewriting the play for the past year, and he has recently begun work on re-orchestrating the eleven musical numbers. Where can this possibly be leading?
Our major scoopers have uncovered two plans for the farcical musical. Sometime in the following months, Derek is planning to submit this show, his pride and joy, to either the NY Musical Festival or the Fringe Festival in NY for production in 2007. This would eclipse any past work he's accomplished to become simply the biggest pain in the ass he's ever undertaken. It would also mark the first time in his professional career that he has endeavored to put up one of his own pieces outside of New Jersey, where five of his works have been debuted. Two of his plays, Equals and The Naughty List, have appeared in New York City, but under the direction and, in one instance, certain mangling of other creative forces. (By the way, a less reliable scooper thinks Derek is dusting off the play to be translated into Thai just to completely confuse the country, which accounts for the aforementioned *other* plan for this show.)
The musical - begun in the summer of 1996, completed in 1999, revised into a musical in 2001, and now further revised in 2006 - is about a tight-knit group of friends with severe (and hilarious!) medical afflictions. A murder takes place at a party, and the detective (the inimitable Harry Sarge) must piece together the events of the night through testimonies given by a compulsive liar, an amnesiac, a dude who thinks he's a woman, the nicest woman in the world, and a blind man. Featuring such songs that one day Derek hopes to refer to as 'hits' as "Save the Monkeys" and "Everybody Wants My Angel", this musical received critical acclaim from many witnesses, at least three of which stood in the prop closet to watch the show on the closing night, as there were no more available seats.
Only time will tell if this rumor is confirmed or not, but be sure to stay right here for further updates.
