StageWorks Ink's "Electric Dreams"

StageWorks Ink was a unique fringe theatre company that created exciting, and entertaining theatre, and live interactive performances in Portland, Oregon.

For their second show of 2014, they presented "Electric Dreams," a comedic musical fantasy romantic thriller filled with amazing music from 1984! This show featured a collection of awesome hits from artists like Culture Club, Heaven 17, Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakley, UB40, Helen Terry, P.P. Arnold, and Jeff Lynne.

They performed the numbers with a live band and plenty of '80s flash and dazzle!

"This piece has been on my 'to-do' list for a long time," said StageWorks' Artistic Director Steve Coker. "A piece that, when presented in 1984, was overlooked and underrated. An '80s version of "Cyrano" with a bit o' "Little Shop of Horrors" thrown in for good measure. It's a bizarre love triangle between a boy, a girl, and a personal computer that has come to life and wants the girl for himself."

The production also featured songs NOT found in the soundtrack. Steve Coker wrote, "Even with the amazing music in the original film, I couldn't help pulling in a song [or two] from "Xanadu". He is talking about the song(s) "Suddenly", and Jeff Lynne's "The Fall". He'd later produce a parody tribute to Xanadu, called "Xana-redU". There's also one more 80's gem included in the production, and a song that was featured in the film but only heard in the background; however, I'll not spoil it for you.

This abridged production used 8-bit props and clever puppetry. It ran May 8th through May 24th, 2014, at the Funhouse Lounge, in Portland, Oregon.

Photos by Mike Lindberg

Nominated for best Playbill Cover Design (Scott Roller) for the 2014 PAMTA Awards.

The Cast: Sean Ryan Lamb, Vanessa Elsner, Ben Nystrom, Kristi Bogart, Matt Workman, Augustine Elizabeth, and Anna Zimmerman

You can watch a video of one their performances below.

Stay electric!

~Craig

ELECTRIC DREAMS LIVE from Steve Coker on Vimeo.

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