Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth, Thoroughly Modern Millie's Marc Kudisch, writer-performer Julie Brown, Bat Boy's Deven May and Urinetown's Hunter Foster lead the cast of Earth Girls Are Easy, performing in one-night only benefit reading Sept. 30 at the Village Theatre. 2002 Tony Award winner John Rando (Urinetown) will host Lark Theatre benefit performance, directed by Giovanna Sardelli.
Chenoweth (Wicked, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown) stars as Valerie, the earth girl of the title, with 2002 Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch (Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Dr. Ted, May and Foster as aliens from outer space and "Earth Girl" co-writer and star Julie Brown reprising her movie role as the beautician Candy.
The film is quirky and something of a cult classic. In the comedy, down-on-her-luck Valerie is losing her boyfriend, Dr. Ted, to another woman. After dyeing her hair blond, per the advice of her boss at the Curl Up and Dye Salon, she finds three aliens have crash-landed in her swimming pool. They're covered in fur and totally confused by human life, but in sunny Southern California, none of that seems to make any difference. As Valerie slowly teaches Mac, Wiploc and Zeebo about life on earth, Mac begins to fall in love with her.
The musical follows the film story line almost exactly with some new lines and one major additional scene, set in a karoke bar (It's during this that Chenoweth will sing Devo's hit, "Whip It!"). Classic songs of the 80's and very early 90's form the main body of the score, which was Herrmann's idea, but two of Brown's self-penned numbers from her original album "Earth Girls Are Easy" — "Cuz I'm a Blonde" and "Brand New Girl" ("If you want to be a femme fatale /You can't rest on your L'Oreals!") — are also in the score.
Among the numbers are "Heart of Glass" by Blondie, the B-52's "Roam," "Gloria" and other numbers by popular 80's groups including Bon Jovi. "The songs they've put in are all recognizable and they follow the story well," Brown said. Regular-priced tickets are available by calling Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4100. Benefit tickets at $250 and $500, which include a party with the cast afterwards, are available by calling the Lark at (212) 246-2676. The Village Theatre, currently home to Love, Janis, is located at 158 Bleecker Street.
— By Christine Ehren
