October 25th, 2004

Before the creation of "South Park," and in the tradition of "Oklahoma" and "Friday the Thirteenth Part 2," Cannibal: The Musical was brought to life by first-time writer, director, Trey Parker using song and dance to tell the true story of America’s only convicted cannibal, Colorado’s own, Alferd Packer.

Nearly ten years after its original production, Cannibal: The Musical’s legacy is beginning to resemble that of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" or perhaps "The Producers!" Since Cannibal’s theatrical debut in 1998, theater groups have been embracing the staged version of this cult musical. Several theater groups near and far have been adapting the original movie to stage with the accompaniment of live musicians, meanwhile a few "Shadow Casts" have also been performing live alongside the 35mm print of the film, in a "Rocky Horror style."

Dad’s Garage Theater in Atlanta was the first group to adapt the movie to a live stage setting and they met with great success during a three month run. Highlights from the Dad’s Garage Show were featured as a special feature in Troma’s DVD Release of Cannibal: The Musical. Since then more than a dozen theater groups have embraced the show and added to the word of mouth buzz around this unique musical.

In 2001, New York City's Saturday Players brought Cannibal Live! to our nation's theater capital. Not only was the musical held over for three months, it received rave reviews from everyone, including Billboard Magazine, The Village Voice, and Ben Brantley of The New York Times. Most importantly, the show found an enthusiastic audience. Cannibal attracted many new die-hards who kept coming back again and again, dressed in costume and singing along with the actors. Saturday Players' Artistic Director Lisa Gardner, had this to say about the run: "We could've kept Cannibal around forever -- longer than Cats! No matter how popular we were, the theater was only available for six months and we knew we had to be out of there by August. The actors and the audiences all loved that show. We had fans come from as far as Australia to see the show!"

After the success in New York, New Cannibal Society has received interest from small theater groups across the USA and internationally too. In 2002 and 2003, Cannibal: The Musical was performed in several cities including; Chicago, Chico, Toronto, San Jose, Portland and Seattle.

2004 brings us the first International production of Cannibal: The Musical by the Rock Opera Company in Rome, Italy, their production debuts in November. New Cannibal Society is also proud to announce that there is now an official sheet music available for the first time, which will greatly simplify the production of all future staged productions of the show. On top of that, "Cannibal Live! in 2005" already has several performances scheduled in cities including Phoenix and Tucson Arizona, Billings Montana, Victoria, Canada and Seattle, Washington, and Savannah, Georgia.

Cannibal: The Musical 2004
Phoenix, Arizona	Shadow Cast	October 2nd
Rome, Italy	Rock Opera	November 12th - December 16th
Billings, Montana	Rocky Mountain College	December 1st - 3rd
Cannibal: The Musical - Live in 2005!
Phoenix, Arizona	Clouded Mind Productions	January
Tucson, Arizona	Ironwood High School	March 1st - 4th
Seattle, Washington	Eleventy Pi Productions	March
Victoria, Canada	3 Schooner Productions	March
Savannah, Georgia	College of Art and Design	March