The Ghosts of Treasure Island!

· Thursday January 10, 2008 by Captain Bogg ·

You may have heard the whispers ‘round the apple barrel…

Captain Bogg & Salty is in collaboration with the fabulous Oregon Children’s Theater and the absolutely brilliant, Cleveland playwright, Eric Schmiedl, to create a whole new, pirate-rock version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

We calls it THE GHOSTS OF TREASURE ISLAND!

I wanted to take a moment to shed some lantern light on this caper, so I shall attempt to answer some of the big quarries.

Who wrote the songs and music?

Kevin Hendrickson and Loren Hoskins, creators of such pirate-rock institutions as Pirate Jenny and Captain Bogg & Salty have been working on the songs and music for this production for about one year.

Is it a musical?

Well, not exactly. No. Kinda, but not really. Let me explain:

Firstly, we set out to try something rather different. We wanted to infuse pirate-rock into this classic, beloved piece of literature, without distorting it too far over the musical theater edge — no outlandish dance numbers featuring Square Trelawny or any little orphan Annie moments with Jim Hawkins scrubbing the deck. Don’t get me wrong mates. I loves me some choreography and sun-will-come-out-tomorrow-ness, but this was an opportunity to do something completely new with this tale, while at the same time remaining entirely faithful to the original intent of the story.

Secondly, we wanted to have a pirate rock band interwoven into the plot and plight of Jim Hawkins. We wanted the band to be more than just background music or more even than musical narrators. We wanted the band to be a character in the play.

So, what did we come up with? Best check out the next question.

Is Captain Bogg & Salty in The Ghosts of Treasure Island?

Yes… well, kinda. Perhaps I better explain this one too:

Members of Captain Bogg & Salty, along with a musical guest or two, will transform into a spectral, pirate rock band made up of the ghosts of Captain Flint and his marauding mutineers. For this trip to Treasure Island the Pollywogg Pirate Band will play a character and a haunting role in Jim’s epic adventure.

It’s gonna be very cool, if I do say so meself.

How scary is it? Is this Treasure Island for all ages?

Of course it is! Well, it aint Deedle Dee Toe mates, but it is absolutely an all-ages show. The songs and music will be spooky, rockin, and a bit in the PRELUDE to MUTINY vein. Let’s face it, Captain Bogg & Salty can get pretty silly. Treasure Island however, while having a couple silly moments, is not a silly story.

I would encourage parents and seasoned buccaneers to read the book with their pint sized pirates before coming to the show. It’s all in there and our script doesn’t shy away from much.

The OCT website has a pretty excellent way of describing the story of The Ghosts of Treasure Island

Will you be playing any of Captain Bogg & Salty’s songs in the show?

Aye aye. There will indeed be a couple of Pollywogg favorites in the play that have been reworked and retooled to float through the fogs of Treasure Island.

The rest of the songs and music in the show are original creations crafted specially for this production.

When’s the show?

There are only four… that’s right crew, FOUR, public performances of the Ghosts of Treasure Island.

April 20th, 26th, and 27th at the Keller Auditorium.

The majority of the productions are matinee, school shows and they are closed to the public.

Where do I get tickets? Are they on sale yet?

They are indeed. Tickets are up for grabs and once again here is that link to OCT’s The Ghosts of Treasure Island page, complete with a BUY TICKETS button.

That’s all for now mates. We still have a full cargo of work to do on this one and I best get back to it.

Hope to see ye aboard The Hispaniola!

Yar,
Angus Bogg