Kiss My Bum Farto: 5 Reasons Why You Should Go to the Show

Pasión Project’s “Bum Farto -The Musical,” a hilarious true crime musical that tells the tale of an infamous fire chief who tempted fate and federal agents who set him up in a 1975 Key West drug sting known as Operation Conch, opens at the San Carlos Institute Theater in Old Town, Key West on Thursday, October 13 through October  27. Bumfartothemusical. Images by Larry Blackburn.

Bum Farto is on his way to Key West— “Bum Farto -The Musical” that is— taking stage at the San Carlos Institute Theater on Thursday, October 13 through October 27. The hilarious true crime musical tells the tale of a ring, a sting, and an infamous Key West fire chief who tempted fate and federal agents in a 1975 drug raid known as Operation Conch. The smokin’ hot show created and directed by actor, comedian, and bestselling author Pamela Stephenson Connolly opens with a sizzling 70s Opening Night Gala featuring pre-show cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and groovy tunes to benefit the Key West Firehouse Museum. If that’s not enough to make you want to get your hot little hands on tickets right now, here are five reasons why you just might want to:

  1. Another reason to wear a costume.  Break out your bellbottoms, pull on some platforms, and dust off your boogie-woogie— the October 13 evening pays tribute to the island’s firefighting heritage by benefitting the Key West Firehouse Museum with groovy tunes, pre-show cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and square grouper (joke!) that precede the show.
  2. Meet “El Jeffe,” the man in red. Get a glimpse of the flamboyant, drug-pushing, scarlet-clad fire chief (Tybalt Ulrich) who had a weakness for gold bling in this swift 90-minute production that’s raucous, sensual, and at times, tender. Then decide for yourself if he was the criminal they made him out to be… and where he might have gone.
  3. Can you say tango, samba, merengue, bachata? Connolly runs a Key West dance studio (pasionproject.com) that specializes in Latin partner dance and features workshops with Master Braz dos Santos, the world’s most celebrated Lambada dancer and part of the show’s cast. She’s also a sexologist and clinical psychologist that writes a weekly ‘Sexual Healing’ columnist for The Guardian, which should assure you these aren’t your great grandmother Blanche’s ballroom moves. Watch athletic, exquisite dancers with moves so steamy you’ll feel like a voyeur. 70s disco and jive are a given, a tap-dancing square grouper (Acey Geida) and white-booted shrimpers doing soft-shoe, a delight.
  4. The music score includes “Bum Was Pinched,” “I Need More Blow,” and “Smoke Your Tuna Here.” In case it isn’t obvious,  “Bum Farto – The Musical”  is not a tale of woe or finger-wagging morality but rather a cheeky take on an infamous, iconic man and the people around him. The show’s musical director and award-winning composer Dan Krysa helps make that clear with his rollicking score of more than two dozen songs that complement Connolly’s clever lyrics. Music theorists can tune into Krysa’s time signature count down from song to song leading to Bum’s arrest. Did we mention the live band?
  5. Get ghosted and like it. Brutus, the heroin-addicted Vietnam vet snitch that gets clipped, has a role revival and returns to the stage to humor and entertain. Broadway’s Aaron LaVigne, Jesus Christ Superstar lead, trades his crown of thorns for a tourniquet and needles to deliver us into our humanity and compassion with an unearthly, haunting voice you do not want to miss.

The smokin’ hot show opens on October 13 and runs through October 27. Tickets start at $35 up to $235 for top-tier balcony seats featuring a private VIP bar. The popular show is expected to sell out so get your hot little hands on the best seats now at bumfartothemusical.com. Sponsored in part by Key West Art & Historical Society.

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