Of unlikely pop-music pairings that, against all odds, worked, a short list would include Eminem’s duet with Elton John at the 2001 Grammy Awards, Eddie Van Halen’s arpeggio acrobatics on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” and A.M. radio stalwarts REO Speedwagon’s musical contribution to Toyota’s public relations crisis:
And I can’t stop this Prius anymore.
I forgotten what I started stopping for.
I got the brake pressed clear down to the floor.
[Who just came through the back door?]
Baby I can’t stop this Prius anymore.
Brave New Workshop
The poster for “Toyota! The Runaway Musical Hit!”
In truth, the “Can’t Fight This Feeling” hit-makers did not authorize the verse, nor did Toyota approve the product placement, but such formalities have not prevented “Toyota! The Runaway Musical Hit!” from becoming a hot ticket in Minneapolis. Produced by the Brave New Workshop, where Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, cut his satirical teeth in a prior lifetime, the musical revue exploits the Toyota Prius’s recent voluntary recall as a springboard for sending up the day’s front-page news.
“We batted around a few titles,” said Katy McEwen, the show’s director and the workshop’s artistic director. “But this one had the most pop.”
It certainly has the most layers of wordplay. Two sets of passengers in imaginary Priuses — a father, his not-so-innocent adolescent daughter and a romantically involved couple — learn too much about one another as their cars begin to accelerate against the drivers’ will.
Unintended acceleration as metaphor for relationships entering the T.M.I. zone; the titular “Runaway”; the sly, serendipitous Speedwagon connection. Surely Toyota dealers in the Twin Cities can chuckle at the cheek of it all.
“Actually, I think they’re avoiding us like the plague,” Ms. McEwen said.
Despite the recall, Toyota’s halo hybrid remains popular among Twin Cities drivers, Ms. McEwen noted. “You can’t swing a dead cat around here without hitting one.”
To publicize the show, which runs until Aug. 14, cast members posted a classified on Craigslist to lure someone selling his or her Prius to the theater for an informal auction following the performance. “The owner we found was looking for $16,000,” Ms. McEwen said. “Bidding topped out around $2,000, though.”
Check out the Article in the New York Times
wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/toyotas-problems-inspire-musical/