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by Eric Coble
In November of 1980, approximately 83 million households around the world tuned in to CBS to find out who shot JR, making that episode of Dallas the most-watched hour of television to date.
20 years later, a new phenomenon known as Reality TV skyrocketed in popularity as a new show called Survivor premiered in May of 2000.
Now, beginning on January 11th 2008 television will once again be the center of attention as The Hippodrome Theatre presents Eric Coble's perceptive comedy about the future of Reality TV, The Dead Guy.
Eldon Phelps (played by Hipp veteran Tim Altmeyer), a "for want of a better word, loser" from small-town America has been given the opportunity of a lifetime: one week and one million dollars to spend however he wants. All he has to do is let a camera follow his every move. The options are endless; Disneyland. Diamonds. A new car…or three. And the chance to rocket Eldon from a nobody to a household name around the world.
But there is a catch. To increase much-needed ratings there have to be stakes, so producer Gina Yaweth (Jessica Morris, last seen in Night of the Living Dead) has come up with a dynamite premise: At the end of the week's million dollar splurge, rags-to-riches Eldon Phelps must die on national television. Even better, the viewers get to vote on how he will meet his fate! The world clamors to watch Eldon's last days - and a few minutes after - as he struggles to win over his disapproving mother and brother (Sara Morsey and Bobby McAfee), reconcile with his estranged ex-girlfriend (Libby Arnold), and prove his worth to millions of TV fans…and himself.
Gina's brilliant concept is sure to be a win-win-win situation. The network owns Sweeps Week. The audience gets a new Pop Culture obsession. And Eldon Phelps gets to make his mark on the world and go out with a bang.
What more could a loser ask for?
And just what kind of "bang" will he go out with?
To find out, click here for tickets to The Hippodrome's production of The Dead Guy. Don't miss this edgy new comedy by one of America's up and coming new playwrights."Coble's skillfully woven comedy is a humorous and thoughtful critique on society's obsession with other people's realities." -L.A. Splash
Thursday, May 15