5 P.M. INTERVIEW: "The Monster of Phantom Lake:The Musical!"

"The Monster of Phantom Lake: The Musical!" will make its world premiere July 21-24 at the Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts in Menomonie.

Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. July 21-23 and 1:30 p.m. Sunday, July 24.

(News Release:)

EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin–June 16, 2016– A new musical written, directed, and performed by local talent

will make its world premiere at the Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts in Menomonie, Wisconsin from

July 21-24, 2016. The Monster of Phantom Lake: The Musical is a campy stage adaptation of a “drive-in

theater”-style monster movie packed with catchy tunes inspired by classic musicals, 1950s rock-n-roll,

and vintage science fiction.

PLOT SYNOPSIS: Five teens go camping near Phantom Lake, where a shellshocked

ex-soldier has been transformed into a revolting monster by atomic

waste! As the teens go missing, a professor and his beautiful graduate

assistant work to stop the creature before it is too late.

The script for The Monster of Phantom Lake: The Musical was written and adapted by Minneapolis

filmmaker, Christopher R. Mihm, from his 2006 retro-style “B-movie” of the same name. The music and

lyrics were written by Eau Claire composer, Adam Boll. The show is being directed by Michael Cook, also

of Eau Claire, who has appeared as an actor in several of Mihm’s films. The cast of ten, ranging from age

16-62, hails from across the Chippewa Valley region, including Menomonie, Eau Claire, and New Auburn.

The show will also feature a live 14-piece orchestra filled with local musicians.

The team behind this production raised the start-up funding needed through the online crowdfunding

website Kickstarter in January. In addition to presenting the musical live this summer, the cast and

orchestra finished recording an original cast album in April which will be officially released on opening

night of the show (July 21). A professionally shot and edited DVD of the live show will also become

available in late October.