Come in costume or come as you are. The release party of the original cast recording of the musical “Gay Bride of Frankenstein” is coming up on Monday, April 20, at The Muddy River in downtown Portsmouth.

Local musicians Tim McCoy, Jamie Perkins, Jon McCormack and Billy Butler, along with the cast and crew and other guests, will play songs from the show and other originals and covers starting at 9 p.m. Doors open at 8 p.m.

“Gay Bride of Frankenstein” puts a new spin on high school relationships within a classic Halloween story. A group of students are invited to a monsters’ ball, not knowing that the party game is raising the dead and that one of them would die on the way. 

The show ran around Halloween for two weeks last fall at the Players’ Ring in Portsmouth. Butler, who wrote the musical with friend Dane Leeman, said it could have run longer at the rate tickets were selling, but he’s now looking at other venues. Sales of the album will help New Theatre Works finance a New York City production of the musical that started on the Seacoast.

The musical was selected as a finalist for the juried New York Musical Theatre Festival this fall, which is considered the Sundance of musical theater, Butler said. He said hundreds of shows were considered, but only 12 are played. The judges include Tony Award winning choreographer Sergio Trujillo, composer Robert Lopez, director Kathleen Marshall, composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown and producer Robyn Goodman.

Butler said he believes the show will go on. If it doesn’t get accepted into the festival, he plans to produce it as an off-Broadway show in the city anyway. As the name implies, New Theatre Works is designed to produce new, high quality shows in New York. Butler, who splits his time between New York and the Seacoast, said the city offers resources that make it easier to put on a show than elsewhere, despite how daunting it may seem.

“It’s not unobtainable,” Butler said. “It comes down to what you want. It’s possible.” 

A draft of the musical was written during the 2008 RPM Challenge, The Wire’s invitation to record an album in February. It was a leap year and so, Butler said, he felt he could get it done with the extra day. Still, he said, it took eight- to 10-hour work days to write 10 of the songs for the musical.

The story idea was in the works for about a year before that, though, and some music began to develop ahead of time, too. The plot came out of Butler’s interest in watching classic monster movies. He wanted a Halloween rock musical that captured a graphic novel look and feel on stage. It’s “Scooby Doo” meets “Sin City,” he said. Other than that, “It came from a lot of bong hits,” he added. 

During the musical, cartoon images were projected behind the stage. These are part of a graphic novel by Severed Head Comics to correspond with the show.

The recording of 13 songs from the show is expected to be available soon online to order or purchase and download. For more information, see www.gaybrideoffrankenstein.com.

Guster brings campus consciousness to UNH

Boston-based alternative rock band Guster will bring its Campus Consciousness Tour to the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore Center on Thursday, April 16. UNH’s Student Committee for Popular Entertainment is presenting the concert, along with daytime activities and prizes.
Guster formed at Tufts University in the early 1990s and has since released five full-length albums. The band has a strong fan base in New England and has performed two previous shows at UNH, including one in 2003 opening for Ben Harper.

The Campus Consciousness Tour combines rock concerts with a nationwide environmental campaign spearheaded by Guster’s singer-guitarist Adam Gardner and his wife Lauren Sullivan. The tour is a project of the couple’s non-profit environmental organization, Reverb.

Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. at the Whittemore Center, 128 Main St., Durham. Tickets are $5 for students, $30 for non-students. Call 603-862-2290 or visit www.unhmub.com/ticket. Local band The Dejas will play an after-party show at Ballards Restaurant in Durham.

Spotlight Awards gala at The Music Hall

The 15th annual Spotlight Awards will recognize the Seacoast’s top artists of 2008 during a ceremony at The Music Hall in Portsmouth on Thursday, April 16.

Seacoast Media Group’s Spotlight magazine puts on the annual event to honor the many artists who make this area a cultural haven. Multi-talented actor, playwright and musician Billy Butler will again host this year’s event, which will also feature performances by The Lonesome State and others. There will also be a tribute to late poet Robert Dunn and other surprises.

Spotlight reviewers and artists helped generate a list of nominees for the awards, and members of the public voted for the winners online. A total of 23 awards will be distributed in the categories of music, visual arts and theater.

The event begins at 7 p.m. at The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 603-436-2400.  For those who cannot attend in person, WSCA 106.1 FM (Portsmouth Community Radio) will broadcast live from The Music Hall.

Hush Hush celebrates five years of music

The Hush Hush Sweet Harlot music series will celebrate its fifth anniversary with a show at The Red Door in Portsmouth on Monday, April 20. The celebration will feature performances from a gaggle of well-known local acts like Tan Vampires, Guy Capecelatro III, Nate Laban, Elsa Cross, Gregg Porter, Breakfast Song and others.

Founded by former Seacoast musician Sidney Alexis, the Monday night series has hosted an ongoing stream of local musicians and nationally touring acts, drawing both established names and obscure gems from around the country and beyond.

Singer-songwriter Laurel Brauns took over booking for Hush Hush in 2005, and current host Jason Boucher continued the tradition starting in 2007. The small, intimate venue attracts indie rock, jazz and Americana artists each week.

The anniversary show begins at 8 p.m. at The Red Door, 107 State St., Portsmouth, 603-373-6827. Donations of $5 will be collected at the door.

Philip Glass visits The Music Hall

Philip Glass has composed some 20 operas and eight symphonies, as well as numerous concertos and dozens of film scores, making him one of the most internationally renowned American composers of all time. Glass will be at The Music Hall in Portsmouth on Sunday, April 19, along with cellist Wendy Sutter and percussionist Mick Rossi.

Glass has collaborated with everyone from Paul Simon to Yo Yo Ma, combining the influence of East Indian music and classic rock. He has authored compositions for traditional orchestral instruments and electronic music. His film soundtracks include “The Hours,” “Kundun,” “The Truman Show” and, most recently, “Watchmen,” along with his stunning work on Godfrey Reggio’s “Qatsi” trilogy.

At The Music Hall, Glass will perform “Songs and Poems for Solo Cello,” which he wrote for Wendy Sutter. The show begins at 7 p.m. at The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 603-436-2400. Tickets are $35 to $55.