Unsure whether to call it an Invader ZIM short, or rather call it a Behind The Scenes "Interview" with the Rikki Simons, the voice actor for GIR and multiple other characters in the show, including the character 'Bloaty The Pizza Hog'. I put interview in quotes because it was a pre-scripted comedy horror short, rather than an actual interview. The short was only a few minutes long. It took place in a dimly lit, ominous looking room, the camera pointing at a distraught Rikki Simons, who sits in a chair, seemingly drugged/sedated(?) or... Just in a not good state. The interviewer is a lady, asking him questions off screen, with an unsettlingly chipper tone of voice given what you see on camera. Its all very Jhonen-esc. My memory of the video is fuzzy, even though it was not long ago, but I remember the basic gist of it. The short goes as follows; Interviewer Lady asks a question, and Rikki replies to the question speaking absolute gibberish, only letting out loud pained groans and screams, with subtitles at the bottom transcribing what he is 'saying'. This continues as normal, until the lady brings up the character Bloaty The Pizza Hog, which seems to deeply upset Rikki, since he starts screaming, the subtitles saying something among the lines of 'GIR is a happy character, but Bloaty is a miserable creature' so on and so forth. He starts freaking out even more, the Interviewer Lady starts freaking out to. You hear yelling and screaming behind the camera, and a man (presumably Dib's voice actor? kinda sounded like him anyway) shouting. The camera pointed at Rikki falls to the ground and starts to fade into static. A deep, alien voice is heard speaking over the audio, and you see two eyes(?) faintly appear on the screen before the video finally ends. The short DOES exist. It used to be on Jhonen's YouTube channel before it was taken down or privatized, but if you look it up on the wayback machine it can be found, the video itself just can't be played. Here's 2 screenshots, the only surviving things I could find involving the short.
The second screenshot is of a link to the video, but the link is dead. However, the thumbnail still has a picture from the video, interestingly enough. I don't know why it was deleted, or privatized. But considering the ever-growing mass that is the Invader ZIM fandom, and also the Lost Media Community being what it is, I guess I thought I'd bring this topic onto here considering I just,, REALLY want to watch this short again. It was hilarious, and creepy. Just all around great.
Okay, so, the director of Rag Dolly contacted me via email, which was a pretty big thing on its own, very exciting (and a little nerve wracking!). I asked her a few questions about the show, mainly stuff that remains unconfirmed about the show, and see if she knew about any leads to a video bootleg that is rumored to exist, etc etc. I'm now waiting for a reply, but i thought i'd give an update about the show!
Not much has been found that is new, however more rumors have surfaced, like the possible video bootleg said before. Vinnie Rattole, the dude that posted the Rag Dolly demo bootleg on YouTube years ago, commented on the Rag Dolly LMW Article with some information that is pretty interesting. They mentioned that while researching the musical, around the time they posted the video, they came across an article that mentioned that the Russian performance was recorded in its entirety, and is possibly being stored at the theater it performed in for posterity. That in itself is unconfirmed, unless the article mentioning that can be found. The concept of an official recording existing is pretty neat, however the chances of getting a hold of an official video recording that is probably being stored in some archive in Russia, are very very slim. Plus, when it comes to searching for anything in Russia, I am not sure where to start. Another thing Vinnie brought up is that this theater critic, Ken Mandelbaum mentioned the show in his book 'Not Since Carrie: Forty Years Of Broadway Musical Flops'. Apparently the dude was known for recording bootlegs, especially in the 80's, from what I've read, and he wouldn't really be stopped due to his Big Journalist Reputation. So, the chances of him having a recording of Rag Dolly is pretty high. Only issue is he's hard to contact. He's been MIA for years now, and can't be found on the internet, no one really knows what happened to him. And, even if he was still active on the internet, the chances of him giving up any of his rare bootlegs are also Very Very Slim. While he has the reputation of being a big theater journalist, he also has the reputation of being unapproachable and very, very rude. So getting a video bootleg from him would be very difficult to do.
However, on a positive note, the chances of a video bootleg existing are very high, its just a matter of getting a hold of it. I guess the best thing to do is to somehow manage to contact the theater that held the Rag Dolly performance in Russia. If any of y'all know how to speak Russian hit me up sfsfdgdfgh
Big news! The New York Public Library's copy of the script is in fact in their archives, and I now have a digital copy of the script! The script seems to be an older copy, and comparing it to the audio bootleg shows that the script has a few small missing scenes/moments, and also seems to have the demo soundtrack still, rather than the updated version with the modified songs and the new song Make Believe. But, the script has the lyrics to the demo soundtrack songs, which I will be posting soon, once I have time to write everything down. This is a pretty big find, and while its possibly not the original script, and doesn't have the lyrics to the new/changed songs, its still an interesting read. I don't know if I can post it yet, but it can be purchased through NYPL, for a whopping $50 USD. I might not be able to post it, but I could possibly post an abridged transcript now, using the script as a general outline for what they are saying, since a lot of the dialogue doesn't match up.
I updated the LMW Article I wrote in like... early 2017, with some new information, added the audio bootleg video to the gallery, added a section for the list of songs and cast. I'm probably going to add some more information in the first paragraph, try to go into more detail with how William Gibson was inspired by Jungian Dream theory while writing the show. But for now, I just updated and added a few small things. Here's the link!!!
Another big thing that was mentioned in the comment section of the article, is that Ivy Austin is apparently trying to get a company interested in a licensing agreement with the script, due to the renewed interest in the show. Which, if all goes well, there is a possibility this musical might actually be revived. Of course, I dont know the details, but I am very happy that the article managed to gain some more traffic and attention directed toward this elusive little show. It definitely deserves the love it is getting.
I also managed to get my hands on two playbills from the show! They are pretty neat. No new or interesting info, just a nice collectors item.
As said above, I have found the audio bootleg for the October 1986 Broadway performance, put them all into one video and posted it onto YouTube! This is, sadly, the rewritten version, so a lot of things are different from the original ESIPA production, and the music differs greatly from the Demo Recording thats also on YouTube. If any of you guys are interested I posted the differences on my Tumblr here.
The fact that this is the 'censored' version of the show is pretty astounding, considering the show in the bootleg still has a lot of dark moments alluding to suicide (whenever the mother is mentioned, she or someone else talks about a "rope around her neck"), the father is still portrayed as an alcoholic, the entire "You'll Love It" segment is still there, the entire show still revolves around themes of death/mortality/etc. It's odd that this is considered the lighter version of the original script, which must have been a lot more dark considering the outcry it started, compared to the 1986 Broadway show, which seemed to have went off without stirring any controversy.
That being said, a bootleg of this version of the show has been found! The script for this show has also been found, possibly, but it resides in the New York Public Library, and this library only has the 1986 script. The script isn't available online, and so to view it we would need someone who is able to go to the public library. Even to just scan the pages or take pictures of them, just to have some copy of the script, even if the pictures are low quality, its better than nothing.
So, at the moment I'm currently trying to hunt down a copy of the original 1984 script, even if it's just to know its whereabouts, knowing the original content of the play and what actually caused all the controversy would be nice. Unused/Official footage from the documentary would be a plus, thank you vamp1597 for the lead! Maybe even extra pictures, which I'll probably be contacting the costume designer soon to talk about that. Even if its small stuff like music sheets or small factoids from actors about the show itself. Really anything to fill in the gaps in this already Very Messy Story about this Very Messy Musical.
thank you! it's been quite tricky trying to find anything about this play.
but i DO have big news! this play is not really that 'lost' anymore! just, misplaced? there is a bootleg of the Nederland Theater show floating around the internet, with reasonably good quality from what i've heard. sadly, i don't have a copy of it, but a handful of people seem to. i don't know how exactly to get a hold of this bootleg, i've only really emailed on of the current owners of this bootleg and am hoping for a reply as soon as possible. i suggest others to do the same if they find anyone who claims to have a copy of the bootleg, not to hound them with questions, but just to ask to have the copy or where to find a copy.
if i get the bootleg i'll make it public & post it on youtube (hopefully it won't get copyright striked). i don't know if its a video bootleg or just an audio bootleg, and i don't know if this is the rewritten/censored version of the play either. but it is something, and something is better than nothing!
i'll be searching for more folks who have the copy and email them to see if they still have it/are willing to share. i suggest yall do the same to, if you feel up to it!
Did you find it?
Is this the same thing as Rag Dolly? We had a post about that.
the bootleg is the same thing as rag dolly! it is one of the Broadway performances in 1986, unsure of whether its one of the preview performances or if its actually one of the 5 official Broadway performances, which basically could mean the surviving bootleg could possibly be the uncensored version or the censored version. either way its a find.
i dont have this bootleg yet, but a handful of people Do, so i'm contacting as many of those people as i can in the hopes i can get ahold of this bootleg.
i dont know if i can post it to youtube once i have it since it is apparently copyrighted material (which is a confusing topic on its own, since no one really knows who owns this musical atm) but i could possibly post it onto google drive and share the link for folks interested in listening to it.
theres a raggedy ann and andy forum on orangecow.com , and the moderator for that seems to have a bootleg of the broadway performance. he's pretty active on the website, so i asked him for a link since the one link he posted has been taken down. hopefully i'll get a reply soon in the hopes that this play could probably be a little less lost and more just. obscure. if anyone interested wants to make an account to ask as well, then u should! squeaky wheel gets the grease!
thank you! it's been quite tricky trying to find anything about this play.
but i DO have big news! this play is not really that 'lost' anymore! just, misplaced? there is a bootleg of the Nederland Theater show floating around the internet, with reasonably good quality from what i've heard. sadly, i don't have a copy of it, but a handful of people seem to. i don't know how exactly to get a hold of this bootleg, i've only really emailed on of the current owners of this bootleg and am hoping for a reply as soon as possible. i suggest others to do the same if they find anyone who claims to have a copy of the bootleg, not to hound them with questions, but just to ask to have the copy or where to find a copy.
if i get the bootleg i'll make it public & post it on youtube (hopefully it won't get copyright striked). i don't know if its a video bootleg or just an audio bootleg, and i don't know if this is the rewritten/censored version of the play either. but it is something, and something is better than nothing!
i'll be searching for more folks who have the copy and email them to see if they still have it/are willing to share. i suggest yall do the same to, if you feel up to it!
bump! i have been incredibly busy and have no been able to update on this much. I have contacted a few of the actors in the play and all of them sadly don't seem to have the script any more. not exactly surprising, since the play itself is about 35 years old. however, i learned a few interesting things about the play, through contact with the actors. william gibsons wife was a psychotherapist and i suppose thats where a lot of the inspiration for the musicals content came from. specifically the use of 'jungian dream theory' which william gibson was very interested in, which is pretty cool. also, the script has been reworked dozens of times due to the business big wigs wanting to construct it to their liking. that being said, there has been no updates of the script or anything of the sort, all except for the script residing in New Yorks public library, which probably isn't even the original script, however its a step closer to finding at least a margin of this. i do not know if walter is still able to check out the library, so if anyone is capable/interested in checking out the library just hmu!
oh man!!! that's actually very exciting! i look forward to seeing whats up! perhaps calling them beforehand would be good to make sure they actually have a copy? i understand that library's websites tend to have things on them that they don't actually have (it happens) however this is making me very hopeful, been searching for this thing for months..! maybe the play isn't entirely lost after all? :0
right? i thought that was pretty cool too. odd that it wasn't recognized by people nowadays though, i mean an american musical being shown in russia and getting great reviews is honestly very very cool for something that happened during the cold war. makes the play kinda historical in that sense tbh ??
i wrote up the article! its my first time writing a wiki article so forgive me for any mistakes (especially with coding. its my enemy.) i'm currently just emailing ppl involved with the play now... im really hoping a script survived <:/ while researching the play to write the article i also learned that there is a nightmare sequence which involves marcellas (main character) mom killing herself repeatedly, a slaughterhouse, a forest of corpses and a scantily clad bat lady who has a song or smthn,, sounds a bit messed up and now im even more interested
yeah its probably gonna be a bit more tough since it isn't like... a lost TV special. bc then theres more of a possibility u could find a copy this is literally a stage play that performed like 5 times in america and once in Russia. its gonna be interesting right now though, I'm just emailing people that worked on the play. using this website -- > tinyurl.com/k42fm6a to find and get a hold of ,, p much Anyone that isn't dead and asking if there even is a surviving script,, and where to look for one :0 however, i can only write so many emails, so if literally anyone is up for helping w emails and searchin then hell yea
Oh! That'd be pretty cool! I mean it does kind of have its creepy elusive vibe most lost media has... if a wiki article gets more people interested that'd be cool, i'd help write it if need be (idk if just anyone can make an article, if i need permission or anything like that)! Bc finding a script or even some footage will Take Some Work tbh! the more help the better !
maybe if i find a script then the diagnosis song will finally get out of my head. its catchy ,,, its a Curse
Yes, it really does! Tbh I'm kind of a sucker for dark childrens media, stuff that was a Little Bit too dark to show to kids despite being made for, well, kids. This play, from what I've heard about it, gets pretty messed up. I mean one of the songs is a damn failed suicide sequence. another one is a bunch of clown doctors gleefully telling the main character (whos like, seven) that shes dying i'm trying my best to get any form of script or video recording of the musical bc i n e e d to know if it was actually this dark or if it was just a bunch of over sensitive soccer moms getting mad over a childrens play...
Ok, so, I have no clue if this is actually a popular well-known video that I just don't know the name of or if it really is an obscure piece of possibly lost media? I remember being in grade 2 or 3, science teacher rolling in the TV and everyone getting pumped to watch Bill Nye teach us about rocks and then the teacher popping in this VHS that wasn't Bill Nye whatsoever, so I didn't give enough of a crap to remember the title. Now, its 10 years later and its keeping me up at night. i will destroy 8 year old me
Okay, so the show was centered around a young girl and a young boy, stuff happens and i think they are on the beach??? I don't remember what happens next but they end up going on an adventure, meeting human/anthropomorphic rock creatures, specifically sedimentary (a fat troll looking rock dude, kinda looked like Pizza The Hut from what i remember, then again i watched space balls a lot so), metamorphic (a lady who is half pale white rock and have black rock, typical girl character), and igneous (i don't remember any specific characteristics). they each individually sing a song about their specific rock types? sedimentary had a very low voice, and it was a slow song. metamorphic had a generic song. and, again, don't remember much about igneous.
does anyone remember this show or know what i could look up? i don't know the company and don't know literally... anything other than what i described -shrugs-