"NEEL ROCKED. I never imagined that a guy and a uke would hold my attention for 90 minutes. But -- I was riveted." - National Public Radio

THE STORY

Cecil B. DeUkulele was Big Time*. He played the Palace* and the Hippodrome and every ritzy Vaudeville* house on the Keith-Albee circuit*. From the time he was a kid hoofing* a song-and-dance, to the comedic headlining patter-man* he became, Cecil was born to trod the boards and always knocked 'em bowlegged*.

But then one bad business move puts him on the blacklist. His agent has no option but to sign him to a small small time* nine-act* of washed up deadbeats touring Odd Fellows halls and community auditoriums in midwest stix U.S.A.

The silver lining: our hero falls head over heals for a brunette midget sidekick in a strong man routine. The tragedy: the strong man is the husband.

Cecil finds himself singing to the rats in an abandoned warehouse in an unknown whistlestop in the middle of... without a circuit, without an agent, without a cent. He's just rearing up for the wow finish*!

"Funny, dark, and occasionally a little heartbreaking... Neel creates a winsome hero in Cecil B. DeUkulele." - Washington (D.C.) City Paper

THE SHOW

VAUD RATS consists of original music and libretto by Neel, peppered with lively dance numbers, tickling comedic banter, and thrilling pantomime. Originally workshopped at Theater Babylon in 2004, selections have been performed for Intrepid Theater in Victoria, Canada, on national tour with the Seattle Mime Theatre, and in cabarets around Seattle such as Bald Faced Lie, Carlotta's Late Night Wing Ding, In It For The Money and Open Circle Theater. The consummate production premiered in Washington, DC at the inaugural Capital Fringe Festival in July 2006.

"With his gangster smile and that wee little instrument throwing off a kind of gritty sentiment, Neel's onto something." - Washington Post