I am shocked - SHOCKED - that nobody ever brought this to my attention. A musical stage comedy that plays like a hybrid of Starship Troopers and Fraggle Rock, telling the story of a space marine/parasitic insectoid conflict from the perspective of both.

I was just going to post its villain song in the villain song thread, but damn it, only a whole new thread can hope to contain how charming and cool this whole thing is. It almost depresses me that I've been so perfectly, successfully beaten to the exact sort of thing I always aspired to create.

The entire thing is on youtube in its entirety starting HERE but it's pretty long. A couple choice songs:

Hideous Creatures - sums up the whole story best.

Get Back Up - even the human characters are lovable.

Kick it up a Notch - the aforementioned villain song.

oh god what

Makes me wish I'd seen either. Will have to watch this later!

It looks every cool. It will be wroth a wacht.

Wait, is this currently on Broadway?

MUST
GO
SEE

Wow, this looks fantastic! I'll be checking this one out for sure.

Well, I see we have plans for this Friday at the Synchtube room, then.

I look forward to firday then

I'm aware of the limitations of stagecraft and everything, but those puppets are a bit too "Saturday morning cartoon bugs" for something like this, I think. They need more tentacles.

This seems alright, though.

I figured that was the whole point, Dodo . . .

The performance actually reminds me of Bunraku, with the performers/puppeteers typically wearing dark clothing so that they blend into the background:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV938f46Wpg

I think this is one of the reasons the 'bugs' are so bright and colourful.

I think the point would be BETTER made if they were actually hideous creatures, and the humans learned they weren't so different. As they are, who could be afraid of those brightly primary-colored foam puppets?

I think the audience is intended to imagine the puppets being weirder and grosser than they actually are, based on the reaction of the humans. Simultaneously, the stylized and colourful props make it easier for the audience to identify with the aliens during their scenes.

Yes, exactly. It's a psychological thing - even if you're the sort of person who likes horrendous bug-monsters, it's still going to be going on in the back of your mind that these are horrendous bug-monsters. By using colorful puppets like these, they strike you reflexively as being as friendly as they seem to each other.

Plays work on a more abstract level than movies >__>

I know that. That doesn't mean that, in this case, I have to like it. :/

I like the one that sings "Kick it Up a Notch", though. Mostly because, while I was watching it sing, I actually forgot that it was a puppet.