On Stage This Weekend: "Jack the Ripper"

The original musical Jack the Ripper continues its run in Charleston this weekend - here's a press release with all the latest info:

CYAC presents Scarpelli and Kehde's JACK THE RIPPER
Thursday, Sept. 29 thru Saturday, Oct. 1 at 8 p.m.
WVSU Capitol Center Theater
123 Summers Street, Charleston

Tickets available at the door - Adults $10, Students $6

"Veteran community theater actor Kevin Pauley is effusive when he talks about Contemporary Youth Arts Company's revival of Dan Kehde and Mark Scarpelli's original rock opera, Jack the Ripper.

He said the show, which continues this weekend, is "easily the most ambitious and challenging piece of work they've ever done. It's big. It's huge. It's the kind of thing you'd expect to see on Broadway.

"You've got to see this thing," the veteran local actor gushed. "It's dark and tense and funny, at times. The music is incredibly complex. There's a 10-piece orchestra and layers of voices performing. The music for this thing is packed. And the book? It's a tome. It's huge."

The play which was first performed by CYAC in 2008, is intense on two fronts, Pauley said.

First off, the show is based on the true story of a series of grisly murders that occurred in London starting in 1888. The victims all were prostitutes and the murders became increasingly violent. The killer, who dubbed himself Jack the Ripper in a series of letters to police, was never arrested.

Pauley said besides the dark story line, the show is intense because of the complexity of the production.

"This, to me, is their master stroke," he said of Kehde and Scarpelli, who have teamed up on dozens of original productions. "It's the most complex score they've ever created. It has layers of dialogue and singing that are very challenging.

"When you hear this thing, you won't believe that two guys in Charleston wrote this thing. It is like Broadway caliber as far as what it delivers."