This 100 word piece was written for Friday Fictioneers with this photo as the prompt.
The opening of ‘Mme. Tussaud’s – The Musical’ was billed as a turning point in the history of the musical theatre but the cognoscenti, noticeable by their absence from the private boxes, begged to differ and the critics were merciless.
“Stiff and failing to wax lyrical.’ London Times
“Impressive costuming but lacked vivacity.” Washington Post
Producer M. Night Shyamalan vigorously defended his work, explaining it was an experimental work that attempted to explore the seventh sense but agreed the sagging expressions caused by the heat of the lights did not assist in conveying the complex emotions he envisaged for his characters.
Six Crooked Highways 
Much like his films – they start off with an intriguing idea but fade away into nothing…
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I bow to your greater experience of his work, Iain, but I liked Sixth Sense and it did produce that oft-repeated line “I see dead people”. Plus it included that incomparable Australian actor, Toni Collette.
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Doug, you really do have an excellent sense of humour. A great piece.
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This is often exactly the sort of thing the cognoscenti love. I once directed a production of Pinter’s The Birthday Party where the lead actor lost his place and jumped ten pages forward in the script, leading the rest of the cast, the lighting manager and the props manager to lose their places too. A lecturer in English literature who was sitting a row in front of me turned to his companion and said with a nod “magnificently surrealist interpretation of Pinter”
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Nicely whimsical- love the M.Night/seventh sense references. The Village/Obbverse Clarion -admittedly a poor critic- noted; ‘Leaden story, wooden acting, a dead-eyed Bruce Willis in the lead role.’
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Yes…melting faces might wreak havoc with the overall effect…
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Adds a whole new meaning to down in the mouth 😉
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Haha! No kidding!
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Wonderful wordplay and creativity here.
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So much appreciated. Thank you.
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You are welcome, Doug.
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Ha, I looked him up and saw he did “Sixth Sense”. So he’s decided to push even further – a bold move but sadly ill-advised by the look of it. Fun!
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That’s an original response to the prompt. I enjoyed the critics’ remarks.
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Thanks, Penny, much appreciated.
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Reminds me of the movie, Night at the Museum.
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Hilarious plays on words, enjoyed every bit of it 🙂
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Thanks, much appreciated.
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‘Seventh sense’ …love that. You convinced me you were right, that’s the point made.
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