Sunday, December 13, 2015

Anthony Warlow & Lucy Maunder sing 'Now' - Doctor Zhivago The Musical ~> inspiration for Vampire Wonderland and Philadelphia After Dark 12/13/15

 

OK... this is a little aside. I think some of you know the Vampire Wonderland blog is an outgrowth and a nebulous expansion of my PHILADELPHIA AFTER DARK screenplay. The script, needless to say is tighter and more coherent. The characters are a bit different too. Tomas/Jonathon is just plain Thomas, the overlooked second son of a Scots peer, who one snowy evening, while strolling the deserted midnight, frosty deck of an 1880's ocean liner, sees a light in a porthole, stops to peek in and enters a world he never knew existed.

I love that scene.. a silent, silvery night... snow powdered deck chairs... complete solitude (well... almost) .... arcane secrets in a mysterious cabin.

And then they disembark... a nighttime docking.... the crowded, teeming, Gilded Age port of Philadelphia.... First Class exits to be whisked away in black, mirror finished, silver trimmed broughams.

A bewildered Thomas sits between the mystical 'Kahn' an Indian aristocrat and a mysterious woman, as they leave the docklands and enter the cobbled, gas lit streets of the city.

THE TOWNHOUSE - a bit heavier and more imperious than the one in the blog. ( maybe due to the times?) ... overseen by a formal dwarf.

DAWN APPROACHES - A clueless Thomas, already translated on the ship, needs a place to sleep. Until something suitable can be arranged, he spends the daylight shut in a large, black, medieval iron maiden (spikes removed)...

When he exits his uncomfortable refuge, the Khan is gone and the body of the dwarf hangs from a noose, slowly turning, just beyond his iron 'capsule.'

And then it begins.....

Sarah, his consort, is still Sarah. She still owns the dim, snug, atmospheric jewel box of a book shop - PHILADELPHIA AFTER DARK.

The Khan 'dead'.... survives as a spirit narrator... a muse of sorts.

And they meet an enemy... a self-styled monk, sent out by the fifteen hundred year old Brotherhood of Saint Shamus of Castle Mara.

The elferinos and elferinas are still there, though a bit more tragic than in the blog. The 'cherubs' are there too.

Sarah has drama with the OLD WOMAN, Thomas' long-time housekeeper who resents her presence.

They meet an ally in ROLAND, another vampire, deeply religious... a night-folk 'saint' if you will.

Other characters swirl about in a complicated love story among the undead and nearly undead. Two characters that I like are vampire brothers, employed as night watchmen by the nightmarish MUTTER MUSEUM of MEDICAL ODDITIES (it really exists)...

A few other blog stalwarts dance through too.

Death scenes to die for. I can't help but imagine what Broadway can do with material like this...thus the inspirational song from Doctor Zhivago up above.

That's it... our look at Philadelphia After Dark, or Vampire Wonderland... haven't decided yet... I think P.A.D. wins out.

Trouble is script only exists in hard copies. I don't know if I even know how to translate it to disc, or PC or whatever it is. But I got enough copies to go around.... THAT you probably already suspected.

Please listen to the song... It's a real good one. And if you have any favorite projects of your own, PLEASE share... COMMENT about them... People will see and I'll mention them on Twitter too.

Thanks for visiting,

Billy

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I think the link to all Vampire Wonderland episodes via (click on it) browse.feedreader.com/c/Billy_Kravitz_vampire_wonderland   ...
is working again...(phew!)
And to take your place at our TWITTER table, click - Twitter.com/wilkravitz ...

until next the Earth turns again, or maybe the next time it turns again....

Good night.