I missed the intro, but tuned in in time to hear Robbie the Robot say, in response to a comment about the Forbidden Planet's high oxygen content, "I rarely use it myself. It promotes rust." :)

When I first looked at seeing Tempest they only had a 10pm show, so not much change, alas.

Ben Mankiewicz has probably never seen Return to the Forbidden Planet, Shakespeare's long-lost rock musical. (I was lucky enough to see it in London. It opened in New York a couple of years later, and then closed almost immediately. I've never understood what happened there.)

It was obviously a cult hit in London, like Rocky Horror without the toast. Maybe it was a huge hit with a small audience. Or maybe the NYC production was underfunded and not publicized well enough. I was very sad when it disappeared so quickly. I'd been hoping for a touring company. I'd *love* to see it again. I have the cast album (which includes the dialogue, not just the songs), but it's not the same without the cheesy costumes and set.

The script is fabulous. Even the lines that aren't stolen from Shakespeare plays are in blank verse.

...I just had a mental image of a Slings and Arrows episode in which Oliver had scheduled a production of "Return to the Forbidden Planet", so Geoffrey has to direct it. Hilarity would ensue.