A Shoggoth on the Roof combo pack
It was the late 1990s. I had gone to Providence, RI, to pop into NecronomiCon. I was attending with my friend Christian Matzke, who was also taking the opportunity to shoot some local B-roll footage for his short film "An Imperfect Solution" (an adaptation of HPL's Reanimator).
At one point we found ourselves huddled in a tiny dark room with a few other early HPL luminaries (Aaron Vanek and Andrew Lyman among them, if I recall correctly), watching a selection of rare video clips and shorts from members' personal collections. The most memorable of these for me was the absurd and astonishing mockumentary about an accursed production of A Shoggoth on the Roof. Imagine my delight, years later, when I was able to purchase a copy of this nonsense for myself. I urge you to indulge, your funnybone will thank you.
This combo pack features the Cast Album CD, the Libretto and a DVD with a documentary film about the original attempt to stage A Shoggoth on the Roof in Los Angeles in the 1970s. This 20-minute film features Stuart Gordon, Chris Sarandon and many other strange people. Straight from the nice folks at the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
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The HPLHS Shoggoth on the Roof Cast Album has been whispered of in dark alleys off Off-Broadway. Lawyers have bent paper clips into strange shapes at the very mention of its name. The CD features an ensemble of professional singers (and a few zombies) singing eleven tentacle-tapping musical numbers in a grand and fully-orchestrated production.
Huh? The stories of HP Lovecraft collide with the cherished Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof. The result is an improbable, delightful and disturbing full-length Broadway-style musical featuring Lovecraftian horrors set to familiar tunes. For nearly 30 years, theatre companies have met their doom in attempting to stage this strange and terrible tale of love, family and tentacles. Here, for your enjoyment is a recording of all the numbers from the show.
The CD is, well, you know, just a normal CD, but features a fold out booklet with strange and terrible facts about the show. It features 11 songs and 41 minutes of music.
We're also strange enough to offer the libretto of A Shoggoth on the Roof. This 74 page perfect-bound book features the full script, a weird tale of Miskatonic librarian Henry Armitage and his efforts to marry off his three daughters Asenath, Prudence and Jill. It's filled with all the lyrics, photos and other fun stuff. It's the safest way to have a A Shoggoth on your bookshelf.