Addicted to “Addicted to Bad Ideas,” a Good Idea

A couple of months ago, Blender boarded a slightly stank Port Authority bus to New Jersey on the promise of a rock opera of sorts based on the life of actor Peter Lorre called “Addicted to Bad Ideas.” It’s the brainchild of Boston/New York director Jay Scheib and band World/Inferno Friendship Society, both of whom we’re nuts about. Then again, we’re suckers for cabaret punk.

The hour or so ride - during which the chatter was almost as robust as the cough billowing from the gentleman behind us - was in stark contrast to the meticulously curated show. The location was a state-of-the-art theater at Montclair University on a street called Normal Avenue. The lighting on stage was stark and white. A glittery chandelier dangled overhead. The band’s outfits were straight out of a 1950s debutante ball (the music was not - more like Rocket from the Crypt or even Misfits with horns). Singer Jack Terricloth was stylishly malnourished, slicked back and buttoned down in a crisp tux, and in between-song monologues and improvisational responses to hecklers, he pulled off Lorre’s weirdo nasal affectation (the Hungarian actor is famous for his roles in M, The Maltese Falcon alongside Humphrey Bogart and the lead in the Mr. Moto detective series). Speaking of the audience, the ones up front, anyway, they were the unofficial cast members in the production. They dressed smart-casual like the older onlookers seated in the back of the theater but moshed and crowd surfed (remember that?) when the music started (see photo, above). The theater had removed a few front rows of chairs and booked bulky campus cops to keep reins on the controlled anarchy. Mirrors assured it was all visible from the Geritol section. The band members are also shot by a series of video cameras and projected on giant screens above the stage (that’s Scheib’s signature touch).

In fact, the only thing bad I’d say about the night was that it ended with a 30-minute wait for a ride back to Manhattan at a dark, unmarked bus stop just past a cemetery in a chillingly silent suburban Jersey neighborhood. NYC residents will have it much easier Friday when Scheib and W/IFS take “Addicted to Bad Ideas” the Webster Hall for a one-off performance. We’re going and can only imagine how Scheib’s video and mirrors and the band and their fans’ antics will play in a proper concert hall. You should go.