FULL HOUSE THE MUSICAL! written and directed by Bob and Tobly McSmith, with Perez Hilton, Seth Blum, John Duff, Amanda Nicholas, Marguerite Halcovage and Marshall Louise. Presented by National Lampoon/Starvox at Randolph Theatre (736 Bathurst). In previews, opens Wednesday (August 26) and runs to September 6, Tuesday-Friday 7 pm, Saturday-Sunday 4 and 8 pm. $30-$100. FullHouseTheMusical.com.
Everywhere you look, a Full House revival seems to be in full swing.
From Fuller House, the sequel series coming to Netflix that’s reuniting much of the original cast, to The Unauthorized Full House Story, Lifetime’s scandalous behind-the-scenes drama about the making of the original, the Tanner family is clearly back. And if that’s not enough, the show is also getting a campy musical comedy send-up, starring none other than – wait for it – Perez Hilton as patriarch Danny Tanner.
Packed with in-jokes and references for hardcore FH fans, the plot finds Danny mysteriously missing his superhuman ability to defuse any family crisis with an earnest “dad speech.” This causes him to slowly go insane and turn into a crude, uncouth comedian named Bob Saget. It’s up to the rest of the family, which includes D.J., Stephanie, Michelle, Joey and Uncle Jesse (even Comet the dog makes an appearance) to save the day.
“We’re doing it crazy, silly and over the top,” says Hilton over the phone. “It’s based in the world of Full House, but sort of in a zany parallel universe.”
While most know Hilton as a controversial, game-changing celebrity gos-sip blogger and reality TV star, he’s quick to remind us that he’s also a trained actor with deep roots in the-atre.
“I’ve been performing onstage since high school,” he says. “In college I studied acting at NYU, so in many ways this is a full circle moment for me. I’m finally putting my college degree to good use!”
To prepare for the role, Hilton did more than just gorge on reruns.
“I definitely watched a good amount of old episodes, but more often I’d study those [online] highlight compilation reels. I had to work hard on being believable as Danny, because he’s so different from me. I’m usually the loud, kooky one, but Danny’s really straitlaced, calm and collected. For me, the key was his body language, vocal intonation and awkwardness.
“But my character’s split isn’t just Danny Tanner from the TV show and the real Bob Saget,” he says. “It’s a funny, heightened version of each. So my goal isn’t to mimic exactly, it’s to craft this new character who heightens the funniest bits of each.”
Hilton, who says he demanded to be involved upon hearing the show was in the works, grew up watching the original along with other classic sitcoms.
“I used to watch a lot of those 80s and 90s shows – Step By Step, Family Matters – but I think the Tanners were iconic and universally loved because of their unusual circumstances. They were perhaps one of the first unconventional families on TV. Instead of the nuclear family with a mom and a dad, you had three dads raising three daughters. Their family sure didn’t look like mine, but underneath it was a heart and a sense of love that connected with many generations of viewers.”
Prepping for an off-Broadway run in September, Hilton says he’s hoping for full houses here in Toronto.
“It’s a big, big show. There’s singing, dancing, puppets… oh, but it’s also a very adult show. Definitely not for children.”
Perez Hilton on how far he was willing to go to be in the show:
stage@nowtoronto.com
