‘OJ: The Musical’ to screen at LBI Foundation of the Arts and Sciences on Saturday

Photo via Cleveland Film
The musical follows a theater artist as he sets up
for his musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello.

“OJ: The Musical,” an off-beat comedy carried out by an eccentric theater artist living in New York City who struggles to stage an OJ Simpson musical with the help of his childhood friends, will screen at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m. The event is being hosted by the Lighthouse International Film Society, a division of the Lighthouse International Film Festival, dedicated to showcasing ground-breaking films and promoting the next generation of filmmakers.

The film is directed by Jeff Rosenberg, who worked as an assistant director for many projects, including FX’s “The League,” and suddenly decided to pursue his own “impossible dream” in filmmaking.

The storyline centers on Eugene Olivier, “who has spent the last ten years of his life putting on various musicals to rave reviews,” a press release states. “After years of creative triumphs, Broadway has lost its luster for him and Eugene longs for the early days when he and his childhood friends would put on shows together back home in Orrville, Ohio. With little thought and no preparation, Eugene decides to move to Los Angeles where he will surprise his two best friends from childhood, Lawrence and Regina, and help them rediscover their now forgotten love for the theater. After pitching them on his brand new OJ Simpson musical, which is loosely based on Othello, Eugene comes to realize that it may not be as easy as he thought to stage the next great American musical. ‘One Man’s Madness is Another Man’s Musical.’”

Tickets to the event cost $5. Admission is free for LIFS members.

For more information, contact Christine Rooney at liffinfo@gmail.com or 571-212-3292.

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.