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Watch a few scenes from "Starr Struck" 1.7Mb QuickTime movie The "Starr Struck" cast performs "DNA" 1.6Mb QuickTime movie

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Web posted on:
Tuesday, February 16, 1999 2:01:49 PM EST

From Paul Vercammen
CNN Showbiz Today Correspondent

HOLLYWOOD (CNN) -- Many people across America are relieved that the impeachment trial of President Clinton is finally over. But not everyone is done with the story: The curtain is just going up on "Starr Struck," a musical about the affair now playing in Hollywood.

"We've got rip-roaring songs" -- among them, one called "Sweaty Sex" -- "and great choreography, and cute girls, and you just can't beat that," says actor Harry Murphy, who plays independent counsel Kenneth Starr in the show.

From scandal in the nation's capital to music in the world's entertainment capital, the Hollywood production is complete with characters such as Linda Tripp, and of course, President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

Michael Halpin, who portrays Clinton, says of the play, "It's just like you were on a fellow who made a mistake, and we're going to show you how it all happened."

CASTING CALL

Use the pull-down menu below to view real-life characters from the impeachment trial (on the left) and compare with the cast members of "Starr Struck" Monica Lewinsky President Clinton Ken Starr Linda Tripp Hillary Rodham-Clinton Matt Drudge (Requires JavaScript)

QUICKVOTE

Which person is best portrayed by their on-stage counterpart? President Clinton Monica Lewinsky Linda Tripp Hillary Clinton Ken Starr Matt Drudge      View Results

If Monica's singing sounds rather sweet in the walk-in closet of a playhouse currently housing the production, consider the romance that spawned her: Tricia Lee Fisher is the daughter of singers Connie Stevens and Eddie Fisher.

She slipped easily into the Monica role -- as she says, "I did feel that I would probably play her in the movie of the week when they did one."

And why not? She played Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss in a movie of the week, too. What is it about her and scandal? "I don't know. It finds me," she jokes.

"Starr Struck"'s co-creator, Alan Jay Glueckman, wrote the show's lyrics borrowing heavily from transcripts and news reports. His pointed pen jabs at House Republicans for their role in the saga.

"They are truly zealots, and they don't care what the American people feel," Glueckman says. "They're going to go and do what they're going to do. That to me is much more bizarre, because out here in the heartland, we're human beings, and we understand people as human beings. But there, they're just political symbols."

"Starr Struck" suggests the Clinton/Lewinsky saga is the 20th century's greatest song and dance.