By Luke Jorgensen
Featuring the Music of Jonathan Coulton
Directed by Luke Jorgensen
October 7-10 at 7:30 P.M.
October 11 at 2:00 P.M.
Boston College is proud to present the world premiere of the new musical comedy CODEMONKEY, by Luke Jorgensen and featuring the music of Jonathan Coulton.
CODEMONKEY tells the story of a Tom, a recent college graduate and his first internship writing computer code at the NOTANEVIL Pharmaceutical Company. Tom soon begins to suspect something is amiss. Perhaps the company is not really what it seems and is actually just a front for the evil and hideous experiments of the insane CEO Dr. Martin. Are Tom's unsuspecting co-workers slowly turn to zombies? Is Dr. Martin working for an evil Alien Overlord? Are the lab monkeys being trained to kill ? Can an army of singing and dancing Freemasons save the day? And, most importantly, will Tom find love with Attractive Lab Assistant Laura? Find out while listening the musical theater versions of one of the most talented artists in music today.
ABOUT JONATHAN COULTON
An independent musician with the heart of a geek, Jonathan Coulton is a Yale graduate who left his day-job as a computer programmer to stay home and write songs. Between 2005 and 2006 he wrote, recorded, and published a new song every week as a free podcast project called “Thing a Week.” This year-long experiment produced 52 consistently well-written and solidly produced songs, and he soon became an internet sensation. Jonathan’s songs cover unusual topics not often heard in music and tend to make even the most jaded listeners excited about music again.
Coulton's is the voice of every elementary school kid who could never quite keep his shirt tucked in or shoes tied; every lovelorn mason and mad scientist; every vengeful nerd; every one of us who has ever sat despairingly on the floor, surrounded by parts of an Ikea endtable, weeping over an allen wrench.
A number of Jonathan’s songs have become full-fledged internet hits: his folk-rock cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back” the unrequited love of a mad scientist in “Skullcrusher Mountain,” and "Code Monkey," the anthem of software designers everywhere. The office zombie song "Re: Your Brains" made the Dr. Demento Funny 25 countdown for 2006. But beneath the geeky comedy there is real heart. ” I’ve always been a math (sorry, I mean “maths”) and science guy, so I think about robots and fractals all the time. But on a deeper level, there’s a thread running through my songs about how it feels to be a nerd – this kind of alienation, a sense of not belonging, not being accepted. And it’s not just limited to actual nerds – I think we’re all familiar with that feeling, no matter how popular we were in school,” says Coulton.
Jonathan Coulton won the 2007 Game Audio Network Guild “Song of the Year” award for his composition “Still Alive,” which was featured in the critically acclaimed game Portal, the Game Developers Choice Awards “Game of the Year” for 2007. All of the songs from the Thing a Week project are now available on CD, either individually or in a packaged box set and his song “Code Monkey” is heard each week on the G4 Television program of the same name.
Coulton releases all his music under a Creative Commons license that allows for legal file sharing and copying, as well as non-commercial derivative works. His worldwide community of fans has rallied around him to generate airplay on hundreds of podcasts, create a library of music videos, and arrange gigs around the United States.
When not traveling the globe or using his powers for good, Jonathan Coulton resides in New York City with his wife and child.
ABOUT LUKE JORGENSEN
Luke Jorgensen is a Boston College graduate who went on to attend Northwestern University for a MA and Tufts University for a PhD in Theatre. He studied playwriting at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin Ireland and has acted professionally on stage, screen and television. He has been teaching and directing at Boston College for thirteen years and has acted in the films SCHOOL TIES and STARVING ARTISTS. He has appeared in numerous plays including, The SHAGRAUGN at Boston's Huntington Theater and SMOKE SIGNALS at the Remains Theater in Chicago. Luke work with te Office of the First Year Experience to create the Orientation Show, is a freshman advisor and can be seen of BC FRONT ROW interviewing his acting and film making friends and BC alum's AMY PHOELER, TOM McCARTHY and CHRIS O'DONNELL
Aside from teaching and directing at Boston college Luke runs the Tufts University Children's Theater. He is currently negotiating the publication of two novels for children. Last year Luke was recognized for his outstanding service work to the Boston Community.
Luke first heard the music of Jonathan Coulton last year and was motivated to create a musical that would highlight the already existing songs of Coulton. When Luke is not teaching, directing, or writing he lives in Westford MA with his wife, three sons a cat and a dog.