Nothing is sacred in An Evening Wasted with the Songs of Tom Lehrer, an hysterical evening of songs by the satirical composer, Tom Lehrer. This witty, wicked, and offbeat evening features such Lehrer favorites as "Poisoning Pigeons In The Park", "The Elements", "The Masochism Tango", "Oedipus Rex", and "The Vatican Rag". Come join the fun and rediscover the man and songs that have delighted and skewered the world for over forty years. After all, Tom Lehrer did invent Jello shots. Gasp!!

An Evening Wasted with the Songs of Tom Lehrer is produced by Economic Stimulus Productions; the new name of Quirky White Chicks Productions, now in its fifth season of producing interesting plays with unique voices and perspectives. An Evening Wasted with the Songs of Tom Lehrer marks the first production under the name change. Independent Theatre can be a financial burden to produce, but thanks to The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 signed into law by President George W. Bush, Producers Julie Rowe and T. Scott Wooten decided against buying plasma-screen-HD-television-sets and instead pooled their tax rebate checks together to produce live theatre. Economic Stimulus Productions is proud to be producing performance art fully funded by the United States Government.

Tom Lehrer (Composer), simply put, is a true genius. This might be clear from the fact that he earned a Bachelor's in mathematics from Harvard by the age of 18, and a Master's degree by age 19. However, it is even more obvious from his songs. To listen to them is to experience genius in an accessible, yet inimitable way. At the time of the shows, Lehrer was a graduate student in mathematics at Harvard. He spent several years in graduate school in two stints (split up by time in the army, amongst other things), but he never did complete his dissertation. Nevertheless, he has taught undergraduate math courses at the Harvard Business School, MIT, Wellesley, and U.C. Santa Cruz. Lehrer has never shied away from controversy, or worried in the least about being politically incorrect. His songs were often in the vanguard of social morality, although he probably doesn't see himself as a social crusader. His song "I Wanna Go Back to Dixie" was released in 1953, mocking southern racism before the civil rights movement really took off. "We Will All Go Together When We Go" (1960), "MLF Lullaby" (1965), "Who's Next" (1965), and "So Long Mom" (1965) dealt with the real dangers of nuclear war and proliferation; these songs inspired and amused those working toward strategic arms limitations. "Send the Marines" (1965) lampoons foreign policy based on a knee-jerk military response. "Pollution" (1965) helped ignite environmentalism. Many of his songs like "I Hold Your Hand in Mine" are based on a macabre black humor that has been almost absent from the scene since he stopped recording. He famously stated that once Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize, there was no humor left in the world, so he stopped writing songs. Plus he invented Jello shots(!).

An Evening Wasted with the Songs of Tom Lehrer will be performed on the following schedule: July 23, 24, 25, 26 at 11:00pm. Performances will take place at American Stage Theatre Company, 211 Third Street South, St. Petersburg. Tickets are "Pay-What-You-Can" for all performances - cash only. There will be a cash bar and $2-Beer every night. Mature Audiences Only. Reservations can be made by calling 727-823-7529 or clicking on the link below.

An Evening Wasted with the Songs of Tom Lehrer is produced by Economic Stimulus Productions.