Ruby Vroom: The Musical

This didn't even remotely pass the smell test. It was just too ludicrous and I'd already been reminded of April Fool's Day by the Gmail Custom Time joke. But what an inspired ruse! The creativity is stunning and all the pieces tie together so nicely.

I can't say much else for an introduction and it's a joke best taken whole, so without further ado, here's the email that popped into my inbox this morning from Mike Doughty's HQ:

This summer, Mike Doughty makes his Broadway debut with Ruby Vroom: The Musical, a stage adaptation of the first Soul Coughing album, with book by Tim Rice and choreography by Twyla Tharp.

Ruby Vroom: The Musical tells the story of Ruby (Scarlett Johansson), a transgendered youth growing up in 1970s Chicago. After a botched, self-administered sex change operation, Ruby enters a series of ill-fated love affairs, all set to the musical backdrop of her caustic avant-punk trio, The 5% Nation. Convinced that one of her lovers is Satan, she travels from Chicago to Kansas, Detroit and eventually Los Angeles, where she is sidetracked by drugs, mad kidnapping plots and the tawdry allure of the Hollywood lifestyle. And just when she is about to succumb to bitterness, an older woman, Janine (Patti LuPone), enters her life and changes everything.

Press previews for Ruby Vroom: The Musical will begin in late June at the St. James Theater on West 44th St., with a public opening in mid-July. Says Mike, currently on tour with his band, "I am immensely excited about the opportunity to work with the fabulous Ms. LuPone. She is the bucket of shoes in my foyer."

For ticket information, see http://rubyvroomtickets.com/

HQ

That would be the strangest musical of all time, by far, no doubt. I'm sure it would net Scarlett a Tony, though.

??? I can almost see the resemblance...