Cannibal! The Musical
Encyclopedia
Cannibal! The Musical is a 1993 independent film
directed by co-creator of South Park
, Trey Parker
, while studying at the University of Colorado at Boulder
. A black comedy
, it is loosely based on the true story of Alferd Packer
and the sordid details of the trip from Utah
to Colorado
that left his five fellow travellers dead and partially eaten. Trey Parker (credited as Juan Schwartz) stars as Alferd Packer, with frequent collaborators Matt Stone
and Dian Bachar
and others playing the supporting roles.
In 2001, a stage production was staged Off-Broadway
at the Kraine Theater on East 4th Street in New York.
A large-scale stage production was produced by The Rival Theatre Company at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It featured West End performers. It was executive produced by Jason McHugh
and directed by Frazer Brown.
as described by the prosecuting attorney during Alferd Packer's trial in 1883. Packer insists that things happened differently than what has been recounted, and begins to tell his story to journalist Polly Pry
(Toddy Walters
) through flashback
.
In 1873, a group of miners in Provo, Utah
hear of new gold discoveries in Breckenridge
and decide to travel to Colorado Territory to stake a claim. After the original guide, Lucky Larry, dies from a lightning strike, Packer is nominated as the replacement since he claimed knowledge of the area. He and his trusty horse, Liane, set off with five miners, Shannon Wilson Bell (Ian Hardin), James Humphrey (Matt Stone
), Frank Miller (Jason McHugh
), George Noon (Dian Bachar
), and Israel Swan (John Hegel), on what Packer estimates will be a three-week journey.
Four weeks later, they become convinced they are lost. At a nearby frontier post, they run into a group of three fur trappers, Loutzenheiser (Edward Henwood), Nutter (Andrew Kemler), and their diminutive leader, Frenchy Cabazon (Robert Muratore). The trappers despise the miners, “diggers” as they call them, yet seem to like Packer’s horse. They tell the group they are heading towards Saguache
. The next day, Packer wakes up to discover his horse and friend, Liane, is missing. The men press on and cross the Green River
near the Utah border. The group asks Packer if there are any other big rivers that they will have to cross to which he replies, “Oh no, just the Colorado River
.” Eventually, the Packer party is spotted by two “Nihonjin” Indians (obviously played by Asians and speaking Japanese). They are taken back to the tribe where they learn the trappers are waiting for the winter storm to pass as recommended by the chief (Maseo Maki).
The story returns to the present time, where Polly continues her research of Packer’s story by herself. The next day, Packer is sentenced to death by hanging. Polly visits Packer once again in prison, where he continues his story, and she reveals her growing affection for him through song.
The men set out in the wilderness after Packer learns the trappers have already left. The group begins to suspect that Packer is really only interested in following the trappers to find his horse. They soldier on until they encounter the foreboding Cyclops
(Henwood) who recalls how a Union soldier shot out his eye in the Civil War. He realizes Packer's men are not “Southern boys” after they can not finish the lyrics to "Dixie
". They escape and the badly frostbitten
Swan tries to cheer everybody up with a song about building a snowman
. They soon run out of food, resorting to eating their shoes as they become lost in the snow covered Rocky Mountains
. Out of frustration, Bell shoots Swan in the head because he does not appreciate his (Swan's) Pollyanna
-esque perspective on their predicament. The men discuss their dire situation that night over the fire, speaking of the cannibalism
that the Donner Party
had to resort to in California. They decide to consume the body of their dead companion, but “not the butt”. Only Bell refuses. A few more days leads to talk of sacrificing one of their own. Packer convinces them for one more chance for a scouting trip, but when he returns, Bell has killed the others, claiming they planned to kill and eat him after Packer left. Packer is forced to kill Bell after threatening to turn them in, realizing he has gone insane.
Arriving in Saguache sometime later, Packer finds Liane, who has taken to Frenchy Cabazon. The sheriff of Saguache eventually finds and arrests Packer for cannibalism during a bar-fight between him and the trappers. On the day of Packer's execution he is saved at the gallows by the effort of Liane and Polly. They had gotten a stay of execution
from the governor which states that Packer could not be convicted of a state crime since Colorado was not a state at the time of the incident. Cabazon tries to trigger the gallows, since the townsfolk came to see bloodshed. The Indian chief saves Packer by cutting his rope with a katana
before beheading Cabazon, satisfying the crowd's bloodlust. Polly and Packer kiss only to be frightened by a still-alive Bell.
Contrasting with the musical's dark comedy are its cheerful songs, all composed by Trey Parker, including "Let's Build a Snowman," "On Top of You," "Hang the Bastard," and "Shpadoinkle" . The last of these is a transparent parody
of the song "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!
.
Two songs that were originally going to be in the film, but later taken out, were "Shatterproof" and "Don't Be Stupid". An interview with Ian Keldin (Bell) said that Trey thought "Shatterproof" (which was going to be a rap song) made Packer seem too tough.
This film was originally titled Alferd Packer: The Musical in 1993. The film premiered on October 31, 1993, in Boulder, Colorado, at a cinema near the University of Colorado campus. A fake protest organized by friends of Parker and Stone, organized along the lines of an animal rights demonstration, took place in front of the theater.
It was not released generally until 1996, however, when Troma Entertainment
picked it up and renamed it Cannibal! The Musical out of concern that not enough people outside of Colorado knew who Packer was. Few people outside of Colorado ever saw the film since Troma did not distribute it widely. Parker and Stone's animated satire
South Park
debuted the following year.
Following Matt and Trey's success with South Park, Troma re-released the film on VHS
and DVD
and it enjoyed a decent cult following
. The DVD contains a "Drunken Director's Commentary
" where Parker and Stone along with most of the cast get drunk as they watch the film, although there are a few times when the commentary cuts out (either because the recorder was turned off or they spoke of things they later decided nobody should hear).
The film has since been released on UMD
for the Sony PSP. A special edition 13th anniversary DVD was released by Troma with added features, including all new interviews with the cast and crew.
Several live productions of the show have been mounted, with excerpts from one live version available on the DVD.
In 2008, The Rival Theatre Company produced the first large-scale professional production. The show ran from July 31 to August 25 at the George Square Theatre, Edinburgh for a total of 26 performances. It starred Aimie Atkinson
as Polly Pry and James Topping as Alferd Packer. Original film cast member Jason McHugh
made a guest appearance as Mr. Mills. Other guest stars included Jim Bowen
and The Q Brothers.
This production was planned a six-week run to the West End
from July 27, 2010, at the Leicester Square Theatre. However, after copyright holder Jason McHughes withdrew the rights in May 2010, the show was canceled.
In 2011, M.P.M.M. Productions, preformed the musical in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada during the 2011 Winnipeg Fringe Festival. It won "The best of Fest".
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
directed by co-creator of South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
, while studying at the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
. A black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
, it is loosely based on the true story of Alferd Packer
Alferd Packer
Alfred G. "Alferd" Packer was an American prospector who was accused of cannibalism during the winter of 1873-1874. First tried for murder, Packer was eventually sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter...
and the sordid details of the trip from Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
to Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
that left his five fellow travellers dead and partially eaten. Trey Parker (credited as Juan Schwartz) stars as Alferd Packer, with frequent collaborators Matt Stone
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
and Dian Bachar
Dian Bachar
Dian Bachar is an American actor. He is most notable for his roles in various films by or starring his friends Trey Parker and Matt Stone, such as Cannibal! The Musical , Orgazmo and his most famous role as Kenny "Squeak" Scolari in 1998's BASEketball, as well as making the occasional appearance...
and others playing the supporting roles.
In 2001, a stage production was staged Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at the Kraine Theater on East 4th Street in New York.
A large-scale stage production was produced by The Rival Theatre Company at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It featured West End performers. It was executive produced by Jason McHugh
Jason McHugh
Jason McHugh is an American television producer and actor, best known for his work with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He produced both Cannibal: The Musical and Orgazmo and played Frank Miller in Cannibal! The Musical and part of the porno crew in Orgazmo.He also has done incidental voices on Parker...
and directed by Frazer Brown.
Plot
The film begins with a reenactment of the gruesome events of cannibalismCannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
as described by the prosecuting attorney during Alferd Packer's trial in 1883. Packer insists that things happened differently than what has been recounted, and begins to tell his story to journalist Polly Pry
Polly Pry
Mrs. Leonel Campbell Ross O'Bryan , under the pen name Polly Pry, was a controversial reporter for the Denver Post and later as a freelancer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries...
(Toddy Walters
Toddy Walters
Toddy Elizabeth Walters is a former actress who is now a singer/songwriter.-Career:Walters went to the University of Colorado, where she met Trey Parker, who was casting for his student film Cannibal! The Musical. She was cast in the role of Polly Pry...
) through flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
.
In 1873, a group of miners in Provo, Utah
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
hear of new gold discoveries in Breckenridge
Breckenridge, Colorado
Established in 1859, the historic town of Breckenridge is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Summit County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the town had a population of 4,540. The town also has many part-time residents, as many people have vacation homes in the area...
and decide to travel to Colorado Territory to stake a claim. After the original guide, Lucky Larry, dies from a lightning strike, Packer is nominated as the replacement since he claimed knowledge of the area. He and his trusty horse, Liane, set off with five miners, Shannon Wilson Bell (Ian Hardin), James Humphrey (Matt Stone
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
), Frank Miller (Jason McHugh
Jason McHugh
Jason McHugh is an American television producer and actor, best known for his work with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He produced both Cannibal: The Musical and Orgazmo and played Frank Miller in Cannibal! The Musical and part of the porno crew in Orgazmo.He also has done incidental voices on Parker...
), George Noon (Dian Bachar
Dian Bachar
Dian Bachar is an American actor. He is most notable for his roles in various films by or starring his friends Trey Parker and Matt Stone, such as Cannibal! The Musical , Orgazmo and his most famous role as Kenny "Squeak" Scolari in 1998's BASEketball, as well as making the occasional appearance...
), and Israel Swan (John Hegel), on what Packer estimates will be a three-week journey.
Four weeks later, they become convinced they are lost. At a nearby frontier post, they run into a group of three fur trappers, Loutzenheiser (Edward Henwood), Nutter (Andrew Kemler), and their diminutive leader, Frenchy Cabazon (Robert Muratore). The trappers despise the miners, “diggers” as they call them, yet seem to like Packer’s horse. They tell the group they are heading towards Saguache
Saguache, Colorado
The historic town of Saguache is a Statutory Town that is the county seat and most populous town of Saguache County, Colorado, United States. The population was 578 at the U.S. Census 2000.-Name:...
. The next day, Packer wakes up to discover his horse and friend, Liane, is missing. The men press on and cross the Green River
Green River (Utah)
The Green River, located in the western United States, is the chief tributary of the Colorado River. The watershed of the river, known as the Green River Basin, covers parts of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The Green River is long, beginning in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming and flowing...
near the Utah border. The group asks Packer if there are any other big rivers that they will have to cross to which he replies, “Oh no, just the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
.” Eventually, the Packer party is spotted by two “Nihonjin” Indians (obviously played by Asians and speaking Japanese). They are taken back to the tribe where they learn the trappers are waiting for the winter storm to pass as recommended by the chief (Maseo Maki).
The story returns to the present time, where Polly continues her research of Packer’s story by herself. The next day, Packer is sentenced to death by hanging. Polly visits Packer once again in prison, where he continues his story, and she reveals her growing affection for him through song.
The men set out in the wilderness after Packer learns the trappers have already left. The group begins to suspect that Packer is really only interested in following the trappers to find his horse. They soldier on until they encounter the foreboding Cyclops
Cyclops
A cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...
(Henwood) who recalls how a Union soldier shot out his eye in the Civil War. He realizes Packer's men are not “Southern boys” after they can not finish the lyrics to "Dixie
Dixie (song)
Countless lyrical variants of "Dixie" exist, but the version attributed to Dan Emmett and its variations are the most popular. Emmett's lyrics as they were originally intended reflect the mood of the United States in the late 1850s toward growing abolitionist sentiment. The song presented the point...
". They escape and the badly frostbitten
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
Swan tries to cheer everybody up with a song about building a snowman
Snowman
A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture. They are customarily built by children as part of a family project in celebration of winter. In some cases, participants in winter festivals will build large numbers of snowmen...
. They soon run out of food, resorting to eating their shoes as they become lost in the snow covered Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. Out of frustration, Bell shoots Swan in the head because he does not appreciate his (Swan's) Pollyanna
Pollyanna
Pollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature, with the title character's name becoming a popular term for someone with the same optimistic outlook. The book was such a success, that Porter soon produced a sequel, Pollyanna...
-esque perspective on their predicament. The men discuss their dire situation that night over the fire, speaking of the cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
that the Donner Party
Donner Party
The Donner Party was a group of American pioneers who set out for California in a wagon train. Delayed by a series of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada...
had to resort to in California. They decide to consume the body of their dead companion, but “not the butt”. Only Bell refuses. A few more days leads to talk of sacrificing one of their own. Packer convinces them for one more chance for a scouting trip, but when he returns, Bell has killed the others, claiming they planned to kill and eat him after Packer left. Packer is forced to kill Bell after threatening to turn them in, realizing he has gone insane.
Arriving in Saguache sometime later, Packer finds Liane, who has taken to Frenchy Cabazon. The sheriff of Saguache eventually finds and arrests Packer for cannibalism during a bar-fight between him and the trappers. On the day of Packer's execution he is saved at the gallows by the effort of Liane and Polly. They had gotten a stay of execution
Stay of execution
A stay of execution is a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. The word "execution" does not necessarily mean the death penalty; it refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed....
from the governor which states that Packer could not be convicted of a state crime since Colorado was not a state at the time of the incident. Cabazon tries to trigger the gallows, since the townsfolk came to see bloodshed. The Indian chief saves Packer by cutting his rope with a katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
before beheading Cabazon, satisfying the crowd's bloodlust. Polly and Packer kiss only to be frightened by a still-alive Bell.
Cast
- Trey ParkerTrey ParkerTrey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
as Alferd PackerAlferd PackerAlfred G. "Alferd" Packer was an American prospector who was accused of cannibalism during the winter of 1873-1874. First tried for murder, Packer was eventually sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter...
/ Frenchy singing voice / The Voice of Doom (credited as Juan Schwartz) - Matt StoneMatt StoneMatthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
as James Humphrey / "Hang the Bastard" woman - Dian BacharDian BacharDian Bachar is an American actor. He is most notable for his roles in various films by or starring his friends Trey Parker and Matt Stone, such as Cannibal! The Musical , Orgazmo and his most famous role as Kenny "Squeak" Scolari in 1998's BASEketball, as well as making the occasional appearance...
as George "California" Noon - Toddy WaltersToddy WaltersToddy Elizabeth Walters is a former actress who is now a singer/songwriter.-Career:Walters went to the University of Colorado, where she met Trey Parker, who was casting for his student film Cannibal! The Musical. She was cast in the role of Polly Pry...
as Polly PryPolly PryMrs. Leonel Campbell Ross O'Bryan , under the pen name Polly Pry, was a controversial reporter for the Denver Post and later as a freelancer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries... - Jason McHughJason McHughJason McHugh is an American television producer and actor, best known for his work with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He produced both Cannibal: The Musical and Orgazmo and played Frank Miller in Cannibal! The Musical and part of the porno crew in Orgazmo.He also has done incidental voices on Parker...
as Frank Miller - John Hegel as Israel Swan
- Ian Hardin as Shannon Wilson Bell
- Stan BrakhageStan BrakhageJames Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film....
as Noon Sr. - Robert Muratore as Frenchy Cabazon
- Edward Henwood as Loutzenheiser / CyclopsCyclopsA cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...
- Andrew Kemler as Nutter
- Maseo Maki as Indian chief
- Audrey Stafferd as Voice of "Voice of Doom"
- Randy Parker as Judge
- Japanese foreign exchange students as Indians
Musical numbers
- "Shpadoinkle" - Alferd
- "That's All I'm Asking For" - George, Alferd, Shannon, Frank, Swan, Humphrey
- "When I Was on Top of You" - Alferd
- "Trapper Song" - Frenchy (voice of Parker)
- "This Side of Me" - Polly
- "Let's Build a Snowman" - Swan
- "Hang the Bastard" - Company
Contrasting with the musical's dark comedy are its cheerful songs, all composed by Trey Parker, including "Let's Build a Snowman," "On Top of You," "Hang the Bastard," and "Shpadoinkle" . The last of these is a transparent parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the song "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
.
Two songs that were originally going to be in the film, but later taken out, were "Shatterproof" and "Don't Be Stupid". An interview with Ian Keldin (Bell) said that Trey thought "Shatterproof" (which was going to be a rap song) made Packer seem too tough.
Production
The film began as a 3-minute trailer made for a film class. After the trailer drew much attention, Parker and Stone raised around $125,000 and began shooting the full-length film. The film was shot during weekends and on spring break in 1993, and according to Ian Hardin, most of the crew failed their film history class as a result. Early in shooting, Parker was thrown from one of the horses playing "Liane", fracturing his hip.This film was originally titled Alferd Packer: The Musical in 1993. The film premiered on October 31, 1993, in Boulder, Colorado, at a cinema near the University of Colorado campus. A fake protest organized by friends of Parker and Stone, organized along the lines of an animal rights demonstration, took place in front of the theater.
It was not released generally until 1996, however, when Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974.The company produces low-budget independent movies that play on 1950s horror with elements of farce...
picked it up and renamed it Cannibal! The Musical out of concern that not enough people outside of Colorado knew who Packer was. Few people outside of Colorado ever saw the film since Troma did not distribute it widely. Parker and Stone's animated satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
debuted the following year.
Following Matt and Trey's success with South Park, Troma re-released the film on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and it enjoyed a decent cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
. The DVD contains a "Drunken Director's Commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
" where Parker and Stone along with most of the cast get drunk as they watch the film, although there are a few times when the commentary cuts out (either because the recorder was turned off or they spoke of things they later decided nobody should hear).
The film has since been released on UMD
Universal Media Disc
The Universal Media Disc is an optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on their PlayStation Portable handheld gaming and multimedia platform...
for the Sony PSP. A special edition 13th anniversary DVD was released by Troma with added features, including all new interviews with the cast and crew.
Several live productions of the show have been mounted, with excerpts from one live version available on the DVD.
Tromasterpiece Collection
The film was re-released on November 2008 as the first of the "Tromasterpiece Collection," as Troma considers Cannibal! to be one of its best films. Included in the new two-disc version were over three hours of special features, with never-before-seen deleted material and stage shows. Songs such as "Shatter Proof" and the early short films of Parker and Stone were considered to be a part of the new DVD, but these additions were ultimately rejected.Stage productions
There have been several amateur productions of Cannibal! The Musical since 1996.In 2008, The Rival Theatre Company produced the first large-scale professional production. The show ran from July 31 to August 25 at the George Square Theatre, Edinburgh for a total of 26 performances. It starred Aimie Atkinson
Aimie Atkinson
Aimie Atkinson is a British theatre actress.In 2006 she was the Winner of the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Voice of Musical Theatre at the Cardiff International Festival, where judge Michael Ball said, "We witnessed the birth of a star, she was extraordinary." She was then cast as Sofia in Howard...
as Polly Pry and James Topping as Alferd Packer. Original film cast member Jason McHugh
Jason McHugh
Jason McHugh is an American television producer and actor, best known for his work with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He produced both Cannibal: The Musical and Orgazmo and played Frank Miller in Cannibal! The Musical and part of the porno crew in Orgazmo.He also has done incidental voices on Parker...
made a guest appearance as Mr. Mills. Other guest stars included Jim Bowen
Jim Bowen
Jim Bowen is an English stand-up comedian and TV personality. He is best known as the host of the ITV gameshow Bullseye, which he hosted between 1981 and 1995.-Early life:...
and The Q Brothers.
This production was planned a six-week run to the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
from July 27, 2010, at the Leicester Square Theatre. However, after copyright holder Jason McHughes withdrew the rights in May 2010, the show was canceled.
In 2011, M.P.M.M. Productions, preformed the musical in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada during the 2011 Winnipeg Fringe Festival. It won "The best of Fest".
See also
- Alferd PackerAlferd PackerAlfred G. "Alferd" Packer was an American prospector who was accused of cannibalism during the winter of 1873-1874. First tried for murder, Packer was eventually sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter...
- RavenousRavenousRavenous is a 1999 horror film directed by Antonia Bird and starring Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle and Jeffrey Jones. The film revolves around cannibalism in 1840s California and some elements bear similarities to the story of the Donner Party and that of Alferd Packer...
, a similar film about Packer and the Donner PartyDonner PartyThe Donner Party was a group of American pioneers who set out for California in a wagon train. Delayed by a series of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada... - Helen Keller! The MusicalHelen Keller! The Musical"Helen Keller! The Musical" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the animated television series South Park and the 61st episode of the series overall...
, an episode of South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics... - The Book of Mormon, a Broadway musical by Stone, Parker, and Robert LopezRobert LopezRobert Lopez is an American composer and lyricist of musicals best known for co-writing the Broadway musical Avenue Q and for co-creating the musical The Book of Mormon, receiving Tony Awards for both works....