We’ve always loved the ridiculously over-the-top machismo and shoot-’em-up sci-fi action of John McTiernan’s 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Predator, but it always seemed like it was missing something. And now we know what that mysterious missing element was: showtunes. Jon and Al Kaplan, the delightfully twisted YouTube geniuses known as “legolambs,” have previously combined film clips with original music and lyrics to create musical versions of such distinctively un-musical efforts as Schindler’s List, RoboCop, and Rambo. But their muse is clearly the Governator, whose Commando, Terminator 2, Total Recall, and Conan the Barbarian have provided inspiration for memorable five-minute musical re-workings.

Their latest is the inspired “If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It,” a stirring, multi-leveled anthem in the “Do You Hear the People Sing” vein, inspired by Predator. They say it is “the final Schwarzenegger musical,” but c’mon, guys —  what about True Lies? The Running Man? The duet possibilities of Red Heat are staggering. Anyway, take a look at “Predator: The Musical” after the jump and let us know what you think.

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Today at Flavorpill, we had our rebuttal rebutted. We were surprised to hear that Duncan Sheik’s next musical adventure will be an an American Psycho adaptation — although Spring Awakening was dark in its own right. We watched a man get carted around Manhattan by strangers. We realized just how far Sandra Bullock has come since she broke onto the Hollywood scene with Speed. We thought over which friend we could hook up with Kentucky and made a mental note never to get fresh with Florida. We felt uncomfortable after reading that senior citizens are sexting. Isn’t that bad for cardiac health? We wanted to frolic in a pile of leaves after seeing this natural color wheel. We studied the facial analysis of J.D. Salinger’s mysterious portrait. We too doubted that the voice-over-chick-from-Gossip-Girl would be a qualified curator at the Guggenheim. Or single, for that matter. Lastly, we wished we had our own Duckie, but were consoled when we realized we could just wear him instead.

Contemplating one’s existence through the art of song and dance is no strange idea to theatre. Wasn’t it Sondheim’s Company that asked us what it truly means to Be Alive? Or the heart-wrenching Les Miserables that has its lead begging to know, “Who am I?” Or, of course, in Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked, in which we are all left with the cold truth that, “Being the Wicked Witch of the West is, like, sooo not fair!” It is, however, Donovan Leitch’s new musical, The Dark Root of the Dream, that takes this sensibility to the extreme. Read More »

SCOTT ECKERN, artistic director of Sacramento’s CALIFORNIA MUSICAL THEATRE (California’s largest nonprofit musical theatre company), resigned yesterday in the wake of outrage over his public support of Proposition 8 — otherwise known as slapping the jazz hand that feeds you.

He made a $1,000 donation in his name, using his professional title, to the cause.

Eckern, a Mormon, told the NEW YORK TIMES that he was “deeply saddened that my personal beliefs and convictions have offended others.”

By taking a public stand on the issue, he displayed private prejudice against many of the people who he works with in the theatre community. But he was also exercising his constitutional right to engage in political activities. It shouldn’t affect his job unless he brought those attitudes into the workplace.

Or should it?

Our question for you: