Seth Rudetsky announces our Gala Concert of DISASTER!
DISASTER! the Broadway musical comedy spoof of star-studded 1970s jeopardy movies like The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake and Airport, is to premiere in London for two glittering gala concert charity performances to raise funds for The Make a Difference Trust at Charing Cross Theatre on Sunday 20 November.
Starring its creator, Broadway legend Seth Rudetsky, DISASTER! will also feature a cast of West End stars and well-known UK musical theatre performers.
It’s 1979 and New York’s hottest A-listers are lining up for the opening of a oating casino and discotheque. But what begins as a night of boogie fever quickly changes to panic as the ship succumbs to multiple disasters, such as earthquakes, tidal waves and infernos. As the night turns into day, everyone struggles to survive and, quite possibly, repair the love they’ve lost…or at least escape the killer rats! Set in the wildest decade ever, DISASTER! is packed with unforgettable 70s dance oor hits including “I Will Survive”, “Knock On Wood,”“Hooked On A Feeling,” “Sky High,”“I Am Woman” and “Hot Stuff”.
Seth said: “This show is a culmination of everything I love and hope British people love: 1970’s songs, comedy and terrifying disasters. When I was a kid in the 70’s, I wanted to grow up and be a weatherman because I was obsessed with disaster movies….not the death parts, but the exciting parts! Tidal waves, earthquakes, res, rats…so great! Naturally, my co-writer and I had to put ALL of those disasters in the show. And we love those signature characters in the 70s disaster movies, so we put them in the show as well…the kindly but sassy older lady, the nun who always has a guitar, the sexy lady whose clothes seem to fall off more-and-more off with each disaster, and, of course, the know-it-all disaster expert that no one will listen to (the role I stole for myself!). And, yes, I know that everyone thinks the music they grew up with was the best music ever, but 1970’s music really is the best music ever, isn’t it?! There was room for everyone…Pop, rock and disco all shared the charts.
“I first performed in London with Patti LuPone two years ago and I found out how much I love British audiences. As soon as my friend Jack Plotnick and I started writing Disaster! we told each other we really wanted to do it in the West End. It only took an initial one-night bene t, a run off-off-Broadway, then off-Broadway, and then on Broadway to get here! Is that called a ‘fortnight’? I don’t know British terms yet….but I can’t wait to learn!”
“Deliriously giddy! Inspired lunacy. A triumph! It’s irresistible!” Critics Choice, The New York Times
“Side-splittingly funny!” Associated Press
“Knockout fun” Time Out, New York