Colorado is known for a lot of things: Majestic mountains, Coors beer, the Broncos ...
And Alferd Packer, “The Colorado Cannibal,” who was charged with the murder of his companions after the group got lost hunting for gold in the Colorado Territory.
He also apparently ate them.
If you go
WHAT: Trey Parker’s “Cannibal! The Musical”
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. March 20, 21, 23, 26, 27, 28; and 2 p.m. March 22 and 29.
WHERE: Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave.
TICKETS: $25 online, $30 at the door, $20 students.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit https://tinyurl.com/2tke3st6
The story, which is true, is being brought to the Durango Arts Center stage with “Trey Parker’s Cannibal! The Musical,” which opens March 20. Parker, of “South Park” fame, sets “Cannibal!” in jail as Packer is awaiting execution.
“He tells his side of the harrowing tale to news reporter Polly Pry,” a DAC summary says. “And his story goes like this: While searching for gold and love in the Colorado Territory, he and his companions lost their way and resorted to unthinkable horrors, including toe-tapping songs!”
“Cannibal!” runs March 20 to 29.
Monica DiBiasio, theater artistic managing director at the DAC, said the show was chosen to represent a piece of Colorado history – this is the state’s 150th birthday, after all. The show is also part of the DAC’s season themed “The State We Are In.”
“This first offering is a fun, semi-historical romp through the Colorado mountains,” she said.
It’s also one of those infamous stories that lives on and is passed down through generations of Coloradans, as well as secured its place in the bigger pop-culture world – there’s even a restaurant at CU Boulder students voted to name after Packer.
“I think there are a few things that keep this story alive in our state. First, Packer’s story is the ultimate Colorado tall tale; it’s passed down throughout our communities,” said the DAC play’s director Jenny Fitz Reynolds. “Second, it’s fun that Trey Parker wrote the show and both Matt Stone and Parker were in the movie version.”
She said putting the production together with her team – music director Kat Canale and choreographer Lilia Reynolds – has been “an absolute blast.”
“It’s campy, very high energy and plays on the ‘Golden Age’ musical theater tropes while blending in that ‘Trey Parker’ absurdity: One minute the cast is performing a sincere, upbeat number like ‘Shpadoinkle,’ and the next, we’re figuring out different ways to stage a frontier disaster,” she said. “The actors have to have some pretty incredible comedic timing and buy-in to the ridiculous, over-the-top humor. We also have a blend of familiar and new faces on the stage so it’s been fun watching the cast bring their unique talents to the roles.”
Getting ready to work on the production also led Fitz Reynolds down some interesting paths studying the Packer story, she said.
“In doing some dramaturgical research on the show, some interesting facts about Packer popped up: The Ute chief who warned him not to go into the mountains was, in fact, Chief Ouray, the namesake of the town of Ouray, Colorado,” she said. “It’s also interesting that while this is a satire, it does seem fairly clear that he was a rather incompetent guide in a tough situation. Ironic fact: It is rumored that Packer was a vegetarian in his later life.”
While Fitz Reynolds said she wants “Cannibal” audiences to not only leave the show having had a fun time, forgetting everything that’s going on beyond city limits if for only an hour or two, she hopes they also appreciate the spirit of resilient risk-taking shown by not only the characters, but the actors, most of whom are playing more than one character.
She also want people to leave with an earworm.
“This show doesn’t take itself seriously, which is freeing and fun,” she said. “Sometimes our world today feels dark and heavy; seeing a cast pour their hearts into the absurdity of this story is a reminder of the joy of live theater. I would love for audiences to leave with ‘Shpadoinkle’ stuck in their heads and hearts and an appreciation for some timely, tattered, tall-tale telling.”
katie@durangoherald.com
