Leigh Scott is a huge fan of 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park, but one of his few gripes with the film was its lack of tap-dancing velociraptors - an omission he has spent 18 months looking to rectify.
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Mr Scott, from Oak Flats, will tonight premiere Jurassic! That Is One Big Pile Of Musical, a spoof musical he has written to both honour and update one of his favourite films.
"It began as a joke with my friend, talking about films that could become musicals," he said of the production's beginnings.
"We talked about Jaws, Amityville Horror, the Saw movies, but Jurassic Park seemed the best - because dinosaurs just speak for themselves."
A performer and writer who attended Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts, the 21-year-old penned a live version of the Steven Spielberg movie as a hobby project, with no plans to actually stage the show.
That changed after some prodding from friends, and with a cast of 22, Jurassic! will open at the Phoenix Theatre tonight - complete with singing, dancing, and a set of large velociraptor costumes.
"Never in a million years did I think about staging it, but now it's finally hitting me it's happening," Mr Scott said.
Johnny Acosta plays John Hammond, originally played by Richard Attenborough in the film. He said the cast and crew, mostly friends and former schoolmates, had grown up with the movie - Mr Scott himself was born in the same year the movie was released.
"I love the movie, I know every line of dialogue and everyone is a massive fan," Mr Acosta said.
"When you do musicals that have been done many times, it is hard to come up with a new interpretation. So having this as a totally new show is great, we get to make all our own decisions."
Jurassic! That Is One Big Pile Of Musical opens at the Phoenix Theatre tonight, with performances on Friday and Saturday night and a Saturday matinee.