REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
FOUR STARS (out of five) - A good spoof depends largely on the audience’s knowledge of — and passion for — the material being lampooned in order to succeed. “Star Wars” fans love “Spaceballs,” and musical-theater buffs adore “The Drowsy Chaperone.” So if you’re a fan of Anthony Hopkins’ delectably evil Hannibal the Cannibal from “The Silence of the Lambs,” it’s a good bet you’ll enjoy “Silence! The Musical,” Stray Cat Theatre’s 2017-18 season finale.
Another key ingredient: good impersonations, and you couldn’t ask for better that those of Scott Schmelder as the oily Hannibal Lecter and Brandi Bigley as a lisping Jodi Foster playing Clarice “It’s Agent Shtarling” Starling. They channel the original performances crisply, with just the right amount of exaggeration to turn the punch lines into pepper spray.