Sierra Stages presents “Cthulhu: The Musical!” at the Nevada Theatre on July 18

Nevada City, CA – Music. Madness. And so, so many tentacles. Puppeteers for Fears, Oregon’s only dedicated puppet musical horror troupe, will bring its original show, Cthulhu: the Musical!, to Nevada City for a one-night-only musical monster extravaganza. After sold-out performances all over the West Coast, the show will be brought to the Nevada Theater as part of Sierra Stages’ Out There series. 

Far from the lo-fi puppet show stereotype, the production features a full cast of five actors with elaborate custom-made puppets, a full-rock band, and projected multimedia backgrounds. 

The play is adapted from the 1929 short story, The Call of Cthulhu,” by horror icon H.P. Lovecraft, and tells the story of his most famous creation: Cthulhu, a giant, malevolent, octopus-faced elder god who hibernates beneath the ocean, communicating to humans through their dreams, slowly driving them mad. Though Lovecraft is not as much of a household name as writers like Stephen King or Edgar Allen Poe, he is widely considered to be the creator of the genre of gothic horror. 

“We are always looking to turn classic themes on their head,” says PFF Artistic Director Josh Gross. “So when thinking about what our next piece might be, I sometimes add the words, ‘the musical,’ to different phrases in conversation to see if it has that magic combination of familiar hook, and new twist. When I said, ‘Cthulhu: the Musical,’ for the first time, a bunch of heads immediately turned in my direction, and strangers started asking where they could see it. So I knew we had to do it!”

Presented by Sierra Stages, Cthulhu: the Musical! is part of their Out There series featuring new shows from beyond our borders. These daring and delightful performances deliver a dose of “wow, that was different!” to Nevada County. 

Run time is approximately two hours with an intermission. Attendees should be aware that though this is a puppet show, it is NOT a children’s show. The material is R-rated, and children should be brought only at parent’s discretion. 

Sierra Stages has been bringing high-quality theatre to Nevada County for 15 years. For tickets and more information on Cthulhu: the Musical!, visit www.SierraStages.org or call 530.346.3210.