Monday, February 20, 2012

Case Study No. 0249: Penelope, the last librarian on Earth

Gooogle: The Musical
2:20
Darkly comic, electronic musical that follows the last librarian on earth and her friends on a zombie-filled adventure to save humanity. Braaaaiinnns...
Tags: Google musical electonica drew hammond haley chamberlain librarian book
Added: 5 years ago
From: haleychamberlain
Views: 2,052

[young female librarian Penelope (wearing thick glasses and a bun in her hair) is sitting at the reference desk, talking into the telephone]
PENELOPE: I-I'm sorry, ma'am, we don't exactly have that information just exactly right here, but I'm pretty sure you can find what you're looking for ... online.

[...]

[Penelope is speaking with Jessica, an older female patron]
PENELOPE: That phone has been ringing off the hook all day today!
JESSICA: Ooh!
PENELOPE: Including you, I've talked to ... three different people today!
JESSICA: Ooh hoo hoo!

[...]

[Penelope is holding a book in her hands]
PENELOPE: How many times have you read this little fella?
JESSICA: Six hundred sixty five and counting ... Well, it is the last book in the world.
PENELOPE: Good old "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" ...

[...]

[Penelope is by herself, singing]
PENELOPE: Through these halls, and dusty tomes, not I can see. Not a soul needs me ...

[...]

[the phone is ringing, so Penelope answers]
PENELOPE: Thank you for calling ... Hello? Um, ma'am, if you could just ... I can't hear you if you're screaming, could you just--
[she freezes]
PENELOPE: What?
[she hangs up and starts typing on the computer]
JESSICA: What is it, sweetheart?
PENELOPE: It's gone. It's just gone.
JESSICA: What's gone?
PENELOPE: Google.

---

From myspace.com:

Gooogle: The Musical
Director Drew Hammond took a "brave new world" approach when creating this darkly comic electronic musical. The show was inspired by Google's 2004 announcement that it intended to digitize and upload every single book to make them searchable online. Google's intentions may be honorable, but Hammond saw the potential for chaos. "The goal is to first entertain, then encourage conversation about the role the Internet plays in our lives," he says. Gooogle: The Musical features a chorus of diaper-clad zombies, the last two Luddites on Earth, and dystopic visions of a future sans the Internet, tied together with music by Hammond's brother, Charlie. The moral of the story? Don't believe everything you download.

[...]

The time: The not-so-distant future.

The story centers on the last librarian in the world who must travel on a perilous quest to save the world from complete ignorance once their only source of knowledge has abandoned them. There are no more books (save Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus) because it is so much easier to search Google for the answer to any question. When Google, fed up with the selfishness of humanity, decides to quit, no one can think for themselves except our heros. And so ensues their exciting search to destroy Google, hounded by the rest of society turned zombies (not the undead, the unplugged.)

The live music and hilarious antics make this a must-see event. Tell your friends and neighbors to tell their friends to come see GOOGLE: THE MUSICAL!!!!

[...]

This 90 minute show features all original songs, living websites, video game battles to the death, and… zombie boy bands. It's a brave new world! A 2006 Fringe Festival Encore Winner now at Hennepin Stages through February!! Tickets can be bought in advance through www.ticketmaster.com by clicking on the 'buy tickets' buttons at www.goooglethemusical.com. Tickets may also be purchased at the box office. Come see a musical unlike anything you've seen before – you'll laugh, you'll think, you'll run home to your internet! Get your nerd on!

Director: Drew Hammond
Stage Manager: Eric Shosted
Music Director: Charlie Hammond
Vocals: Jeff Duncan
Choreography: Sarah Jacobs
Costumer: Ananda Wold
Light Design: Karin Olson
Video Production: Brian Forrest

Cast
Penelope: Haley Chamberlain
Jessica: Meri Golden
Rajit: Cherian Koshy
Gameboy: Jeff Duncan
Avatar: Debi Kilde
Googlettes: Keri Bunkers, Lisa Burton, Meg Krekeler, Kristen Springer
EnZomble: Isaiah Waid, Brad Erickson, Jay Melchior, Stephanie Cordell

---

From xanga.com:

If you have access to the internet, chances are you've heard of it and may be among the millions who use it every day seeking answers to the simplest and most complex of questions. You may have even spoken these increasingly common words, "just Google it." When Google announced in 2004 that its intended goal was to scan and upload every single book – searchable and free to all – most were quick to herald the beginning of a new era in human knowledge. However, a small group of local artists known as The Imbecile Domicile (a new collection of artists including the brotherly collaboration of writer and director Drew Hammond and electronic composer Charlie Hammond) saw a somewhat more dystopic future. Building on the premise of a world where all information is available at the click of a mouse or the flip of a cell phone, Google: The Musical was born.

With its debut at the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, Google: The Musical follows Penelope (Haley Chamberlain), the last Librarian on Earth and caretaker of the last book on Earth (Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus) as she and a group of misfit "readers" comically struggle to right what's wrong. Of course, things are never as simple as they seem – when Google disappears; the mass dependence on what has become a way of life even Tom Cruise could sink his teeth into leaves everyone rather 'zombified'. They aren't the undead; they are the unplugged. But where has Google gone? Through 8 original electronically produced songs the big G himself (Jay Walker) is soon introduced and an hour of dancing, fighting and awkward near-nudity ensues as the epic search for answers plays out.

"There are so many questions that need to be asked about the role the internet is going to play in our collective future" says writer and director Drew Hammond. "Who gets to decide what is true or fact? Is there such a thing as too much knowledge? And more importantly, have we become dependent, or addicted to the internet? If we spark any discussion along these lines, I'll be a happy boy." Hammond concludes by stating, "Of course, what we want most is for audiences to laugh, enjoy the music and give us lots of their money."

The Imbecile Domicile's production of Google: The Musical features the talents of Keri Bunkers, Haley Chamberlain, Bryce Davidson, Maggie Delgadillo, Rob Ford, Meri Golden, Rose Johnson, Meg Krekeler, Drew Losure, Abhrajeet Roy, Mike Rylander, Isaiah Waid, and Jay Walker.

Please Note: Google: The Musical is rated PG-13 for strong language, gratuitous use of the word 'upload', and sexual themes.

---

From mikerylander.com:

Published: August 6th, 2006

THEATRE REVIEW:
GOOOGLE: THE MUSICAL

By John Townsend

Staff Writer
Imagine a dire scenario in which the computer search engine Google abruptly vanishes. Then find humor in that and you'll get the drift of this unwieldy but vibrant piece written and directed by Drew Hammond. Haley Chamberlain gives a winningly wacky performance as a librarian who defies a culture degraded by computer dependency, video games and Internet porn. Keri Bunkers' kinetic choreography delightfully matches Charlie Hammond's exuberant music; unfortunately, his lyrics are often drowned out by the electronic orchestration.

(7 p.m. Tuesday, 10 p.m. Thursday, 8:30 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. next Sunday. Rarig Center.)

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From blogspot.com:

Winning the award for most unlikely show ever to be produced at the Guthrie - the 2006 Fringe hit "Gooogle: The Musical" is back for a full run the entire month of February – including 3 shows at the Guthrie. Rehearsals begin middle December and last through January.

Gooogle: The Musical asks the centuries old question: "would the world be better off without the internet?" Set in the slightly-more-than-not-to-distant future; the story follows the last Librarian in the world. When Google disappears all hell breaks loose, the unwashed masses addicted to the internet (a.k.a.: us) become zombies and people start singing ... ooohh, scary. The show has been reworked from the ground up for this run.

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