Lucie McGrane, Max Faugno, Stephen Heath & Julie Marie Lewis

This year Ken Roht’s traditionally bedazzled and whimsical Same-O, A 99¢ Only Electric Ballad, is not quite the same-o same-o, as it wrestles with the multi-layered issue of sustainability in a surreal rock musical collage.

“We have been doing glossy, fluffy, effervescent shows for the past couple years, and this year it has much darker tones with intentionally more of a grunge aesthetic,” says Roht.

Bootleg Theatre presents the unconventional 99-cent holiday show with mastermind writer, director and choreographer Roht, along with vocal arrangement and musical direction by John Ballinger. The two are also the co-composers. Ann Closs-Farley leads the way with her imaginative and mind-blowing costume design and a cast of 18 talented actors completes the spectacle.

Aesthetically, the show is astounding. When surrounded by the robust, geometrical costumes, textured scrims and complex, multi-purpose sculptures, it is difficult to comprehend all of these products cost a mere 99 cents each.

Ken Roht. Photo by Jim Hickcox

But it is specifically this slant toward simplicity that makes Roht’s work so ingenious.

For the past seven years Roht has brought his creativity and bargaining skills to LA by purchasing the entirety of the set and costume pieces from the 99¢ Only Stores.

Roht conceived this seemingly ludicrous idea in early 2002 when he stood morning after morning in his pajamas sipping coffee across the street from the landmark 99¢ Only store in Silver Lake. As he stared at the colorful window displays, he decided to use the store’s products as a launching point for a show.

“We’re cheap you know,” says Roht. “But the show has really developed over the years because we have learned to use the product better and better.”

Roht developed a close relationship with the store chain and now gets access to private 99¢ Only showrooms for first pick and often has one or two 99¢ Only delivery trucks waiting outside the theater.

Tracey A. Leigh

As if that weren’t enough, this year Roht limited himself even further by using only sustainable paper products from the 99¢ Only store along with recycled items. After watching the documentary The Age of Stupid, he could no longer use materials like plastic tablecloths and pool floaties he knew were slowly killing the earth. “I could no longer glorify plastic, and believe me in past productions we used a lot of plastic,” says Roht.

With this decision he turned to Green Print Alliance, one of the show’s biggest sponsors, for recycled, ecologically friendly materials to support his transformed aesthetic. “They have been just wonderful and we are so grateful,” says Roht.

From the cardboard box sculptures covering the stage with paper maché dogs flanking them on either side, to paper coin rolls, mailing packages, vacuum cleaner bags, pointy paper party hats and decoupage magazines detailing costumes, Same-O has the familiar feeling of an ispy book (except with more organization and oversight).

Tracey A. Leigh, Jonathan CK Williams, Lucie McGrane & Raul Staggs

Although the set and costume design immediately overtake the senses, Roht’s vision permeates the entire project. “When you get into this concept of sustainability, you really have to look at it and say what does that mean? Are we advocating sustaining our current ideologies and practices? If so, our world is going to go down the tubes. So sustaining is not just maintaining; it is changing ideology and the way we live for the better.”

Thus, the idea was born to examine human sustainability in terms of what makes us different, and what ultimately unites people.

Lake Sharp

While writing Same-O, Roht chose to examine this juxtaposition of sameness and difference through the two lovers, Eddie and Fred, who eventually marry. The show tracks the heroes’ journeys as each man deals with his personal as well as opposing perspective of the world in relation to the other and the small town in which they live.

Appalled by the passing of Prop 8, Roht was inspired to look at human sustainability through the social context of homophobia. This platform allows Roht to emphasize the issue’s sustainability within three different ways: the relationship of the self to community; the relationship of the energies between the male and female; the relationship between the human and mortality.

“Things are really serious in the world right now, economically, socially, environmentally; there’s a war but it’s nurturing to say to people, ‘I see that, I see that question and struggle to sustain,’ and do it in a beautiful and profound way,” says Roht.

Using theater to convey that message to audiences is as important as it is difficult. By creating what he calls a surrealist musical collage in Same-O, Roht relies on singing, dancing and emotional expression rather than logic to touch audiences.

“The shows have always been peace rallies that are more surrealist than anything else,” describes Roht. “That’s why this show is great for kids too because you don’t need to be able to understand a really detailed, complex plot; you just need to be able to feel what is going on and all your information will come from there. And kids do that really well.”

With this year’s darker rock aesthetic, Roht says the show is looser and not as controlled but still possesses the detail, thought and artistry of the previous years. Because this year’s message goes a bit deeper, all of the traditional elements might shine more clearly this holiday season.

Production photos by Christy Borgman.

Ken Roht’s Same-O, A 99¢ Only Electric Ballad, produced by Alicia Adams, Corbett Barklie and Jessica Hanna, opens Dec. 4; plays Thur.-Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 3 pm; through Dec. 19. Tickets: $18-$25. For Bootleg neighbors living in the 90057 zip code, tickets may be purchased for 99¢ with proof of address. Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; 213.389.3856 or bootlegtheater.com.