ENTERTAINMENT

'Orange Is the New Musical' brings Litchfield to Delaware

Ryan Cormier
The News Journal
Jada Bennett performs as Crazy Eyes as actors rehearse, "Orange is the New Musical," at Bootless Stageworks in Wilmington on Monday night.

When the bulk of the forthcoming season of Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black" was leaked online by a hacker over the weekend, it surely caused some agita for Netflix, which was prepping the fifth season for a June 9 debut.

More than a month before Netflix was set to resolve last year's cliffhanger, which showed an inmate prepared to shoot a corrections officer at Litchfield Penitentiary, 10 episodes of the new 13-episode season appeared on computer networks across the world Saturday morning.

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A side-effect of the leak has been plenty of publicity for the Emmy Award-winning comedy/drama, which tracks the lives of inmates in a minimum-security women's federal prison.

And the timing couldn't be better for Wilmington's Bootless Stageworks, a non-profit theater group based near Wilmington's Trolley Square in St. Stephen’s Church.

Bootless has been busy preparing for this weekend's East Coast debut of a Los Angeles-based "Orange Is the New Black" parody called "Orange is the New Musical."

"I didn't do it," Rosanne DellAversano, Bootless' executive and producing artistic director, jokes about the hack. "But it has been serendipitous."

Taylor Shilling as Piper Chapman (left) and 
Uzo Aduba as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in an episode of "Orange Is the New Black" on Netflix.

Bootless' satirical version of the Netflix hit re-imagines life in Litchfield with the same cast of characters, including Piper Chapman, Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren, Alex Vause and the imposing Galina "Red" Reznikov -- all while keeping the original program's edge.

The musical, which runs Friday and Saturday this weekend before returning to 1301 N. Broom St. from May 12-13, costs $15-$18. It's for mature audiences only, meaning only those 16 and older will be admitted. Texas-based comedy act The Shock Puppets will open each performance with a bawdy sock puppet show.

"Orange Is the New Musical" is a dream of sorts for Newark actress/singer/dancer Jada Bennett, who is among the local cast.

Bennett, 21, is an "Orange" devotee. And even though she has never done a show with Bootless before, she will play one of the show's most recognizable faces, the bug-eyed "Crazy Eyes," which has earned "Orange" actress Uzo Aduba a pair of Emmy Awards.

"I absolutely love that show. When it comes out, I binge watch it right away and it's excruciating waiting a year for the next season," says Bennett, a graduate of Middletown High School and New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts. "The fact that someone turned it into a musical made every dream of mine come true. And the fact that they needed a 'Crazy Eyes' -- one of my favorite characters -- was just icing on the cake."

The parody is the brainchild of "Orange Is the New Musical" creator/composer Veronica Vasquez and lyricist Jared Goode, both from Los Angeles.

Wilmington's Bootless Stageworks will host the East Coast premiere of the Los Angeles-based "Orange is the New Musical" this weekend. It will also run next weekend.

"Orange Is the New Musical" was first performed in 2015 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center and returned last year for a second run. Vasquez and Goode had not yet decided whether they were going to begin licensing the show when DellAversano contacted them.

DellAversano had spotted "Orange Is the New Musical" online while "surfing the internet for weird stuff." As she puts it, "I'm always looking for new, quirky shows from the fringe."

Vasquez, 30, and Goode, 36, looked into Bootless' history and decided to allow them to bring the show to the East Coast.

"We liked what we saw in terms of what they have done before. They were excited about the show and we were excited about them, so we did it," Goode says.

Vasquez says she thought the show would make a good musical.

"It's got this vibe that is comedy, but there's also this dramatic side. And that lends itself to being poked fun at, which has been really fun for us," Vasquez says. "It's great to be creative with a show like this. We go there. It's wild and crazy."

Bennett was originally drawn to the Netflix show because of its strong ensemble cast, which leaves viewers invested in the future of its characters, whether they be a mentally ill inmate, a former drug smuggler or a corrections officer. No matter their background, they are written to have value.

"Not one character feels like a stranger to you," Bennett says. "It brings real people to life and that's important to me."

For Bennett, reading the "Orange Is the New Musical" script totally won her over. It was outrageous and filled with dark humor, just like the show, all while making knowing references to scenes from the television show.

Ever since snagging the role, Bennett been honing her "Crazy Eyes" impression, which means rolling her hair in bantu knots and popping her eyes open wide. Bennett has been re-watching the show from the first season to make sure she's truthful to the character, even if it is satire.

"I want to make sure I get the recognizable mannerisms and make her as real as she is on the show, while still putting the humor in it," she says. "I've been doing the eye thing to my castmates just to test it out."

Over the years, Vasquez and Goode have updated the musical to include new plot lines from each season. Wilmington's performance will be the first show with nods to last year's fourth season of "Orange is the New Black."

While the musical has been crafted for both fans of the Netflix series and theater-goers who have never seen "Orange Is the New Black," there is certainly more in it for fans.

"It is that much more enjoyable if you're a fan because it is so chock full of these inside jokes that are very specific to the show," Vasquez says. "And thankfully for us, they work on both levels."

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).

IF YOU GO

What: "Orange Is the New Musical" with The Shock Puppets

When: Friday and Saturday, along with May 12-13. All shows 8 p.m.

Where: Bootless Stageworks at St. Stephen’s Church, 1301 N. Broom St., Wilmington

Cost: $15-$18

Information: bootless.org