INTERVIEW: Lovers of ‘Saw’ have made a parody musical in its honor
Photo: Saw the Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of Saw has set up its saw shop in Midtown Manhattan. Photo courtesy of artist / Provided by JT PR with permission.
Saw the Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of Saw was a hit in Philadelphia, and now the hilarious new show has opened in Midtown Manhattan at the AMT Theatre. The musical, created by Cooper Jordan, takes the murderous elements of the original Saw film and throws a few bloody wrenches into the mix. Jigsaw the killer is still around, but there’s a new relationship that develops between his captors.
Audience members should expect blood, gore, guts and some catchy show tunes. Think jazz hands that have been amputated and fed through a meat grinder.
Helping Cooper Jordan bring this vision to life are Zoe Ann Jordan, the book writer; Patrick Spencer and Anthony De Angelis, the composers; music director Leigh Pomeranz; and director Stephanie Rosenberg. The talented cast, who play multiple roles throughout the evening, consists of Danny Durr, Jill Owen and Adam Parbhoo.
Recently Cooper Jordan exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox and dove deep into his love of the movie Saw. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
Does the creation of this show come from your love (or hate) of the Saw franchise?
Love. Saw is so important to us. My sister and I have loved these movies since we’ve been kids (me in junior high, her even younger).
How did you assemble the creative team to write the script and songs?
I asked my sister to write the book to which she became exhilarated to do so. We had found our composer and lyricist from a previous networking event at TRU (truonline.org). Our director/choreographer and fight director I had worked with many times. Our current music director musically directed DEX! A Killer Musical The Unauthorized Parody of Dexter in the NY Fringe back in 2013 for me. The late Donnell W. Johnson (recently passed away at 46 years old) always wanted to be a voiceover actor, and and this was his break, after knowing the director from Shawnee High School in Medford, New Jersey.
Is the show best enjoyed by horror fans who have seen Saw? What’s a good age limit?
It is definitely best to have seen the first movie Saw 1 (2004) but can be enjoyed by all. Some people are coming to see the musical and then going home and watching the whole franchise for the first time after seeing the musical.
Do you feel the parody works after Halloween? Will those weeks be a challenge to sell?
Though we are certainly aware of a potential challenge, we do have presale on mostly all of the dates at this point. I do feel it will continue to sell, as we are taking on something bigger in this fluid love story, which appears to be reaching a queer audience who have been longing to have their voices heard in this way, as well as just horror fans in general. And I think we’re opening the minds of people with this show in a new way, and my hope is that people carry this show and bring more love and acceptance and appreciation into their lives.
Are you excited to see the new Saw film?
We were very excited to see Saw X. Looking forward to the 30+ minutes of deleted scenes to be released in December or January.
Top three horror films of all time … Go …
Saw 6 (and also Saw 7 and Saw 5), Halloween (original), The Purge: Election Year.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Saw the Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of Saw continues at the AMT Theatre in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
