Rod Blagojevich: The Musical

It was only a matter of time, wasn't it? The first Blago musical (I know of, anyway) will go on stage this weekend when the St. Louis community theater group StagedFrightMedia debuts its production, Waziriside Story: Till They Framed Rod Blagojevich.

The musical, loosely based on West Side Story, juxtaposes "tribal militants in Pakistan with gamer-kids cum U.S. drone fighter pilots in the Nevada desert." Production manager Mike Pagano tells me that the ex-governor of Illinois enters the play as a scapegoat of sorts who thwarts the evil motives of Bank of America and later gets involved with a Pakistani militant.

Confused? You ought to be. Pagano and his cast are encouraging the audience to read the articles linked here from the New York Times and National Geographic, as well as the archives of Blagojevich's impeachment. Oh yeah, and it wouldn't hurt to have seen Charlie Wilson's War, either.

If you don't have time to do your homework, don't worry. Pagano says they'll be streaming YouTube clips during the play to help the audience follow the plot. He adds, too, that the musical will feature a special guest who will help make sense of everything.

The show runs this Friday (Feb. 6) at 7 p.m. and this Saturday (Feb. 7) at 9:30 p.m. at the Tin Ceiling Theater located at 3159 Cherokee Street. Admission is ten bucks, but dress like a sheik or drone pilot and you'll get in for $8, naturally.