Hail to the King was my first foray into theatrical writing. It was a murder mystery I co-wrote with my good friend Rob Padden. Tying into the Monicagate scandal of the time, it told the tale of a meeting of the local "Friends of Elvis" chapter. The Elvis Presley fan club was presided over by "Clint Wilton" and his first lady "Mallory Hamrod Wilton". Clint was having an affair with a young intern by the name of "Monica Stravinsky". You can see where it went from there.
We also added a load of backstabbing, betrayed alliances and the typical murder mystery goings on. It was my first mixing of parody and theater.
The show was put up twice. Once, on Friday, February 26, 1999 at the Shadowbrook Inn & Resort in Tunkhannock, PA and again on Friday, May 28, 1999 at The Alden Manor in Nanticoke, PA.
The cast of each version is as follows (see if you can guess the real life character they inspired):
February 26, 1999:
Monica Stravinsky: Kelly Clisham
President Clint Wilton: Paul Clisham
Lucy Slipps: William J. Gatevackes
Seymour Gruesome: Mark Kwarcinski
Kenny Celebrity: Sean McKeown
Theo King: Rob Padden
Theo's Assistant: Karen Padden
Mallory Hamrod Wilton: Christine E. Rock
Tanner Hyde: Warren Rosengrant
Yes, much like Saturday Night Live did, we came upon the idea that a man in drag would be the best candidate to portray our parody of Linda Tripp. And since all of our usual suspects were busy, I stepped into the role. As you can see from the pictures below, I made a really ugly woman. But I guess that was the point.
May 28, 1999:
Monica Stravinsky: Kelly Clisham
President Clint Wilton: Paul Clisham
Kenny Celebrity: Keith Edwards (Greg Korin)
Lucy Slipps: William J. Gatevackes
Paige Turner: Karen Padden
Theo King: Rob Padden
Mallory Hamrod Wilton: Christine E. Rock
Tanner Hyde: Warren Rosengrant
As you can see, the main differences between the shows were: A) Theo's assistant got a name, B) We lost the character of Seymour Gruesome (due to there being less audience for the second show) and C) Radio personality and real-life movie actor Greg Korin (Or as he was known at that time, Keith Edwards) replaced Sean as our Kenny Celebrity.
This production was the first time I was nominated (or, in this case, co-nominated) for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Theatrical Alliance's award for Best Original Production. I would be nominated 3 more times after this.
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| The cover to the program for February 26 show. |
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| The inside of the February 26 program. |
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| May 28th's poster. |
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| The program cover for the May 28 show. |
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| Inside the May 28th program. |
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| The cast of the May 28th show. |
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| Tanner Hyde is a Lager man! |
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| Clint Wilton: Caught in the Act! |
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| Theo King and his assisstant, Paige Turner. |
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| Two of Clint Wilton's great loves. |
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| Comedy isn't pretty. |
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| We can't be seen with you! |
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| Coming, dear! |
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| Which Elvis is YOUR favorite? |
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| Vote for us! |
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| Damn Paparazzi! |
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| Flesh pressing. |
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| Beware the eyes of Elvis! |
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Photos by Paul Clisham and Greg Korin.
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