Sherna Ann Phillips wrote “The XX Chromosome Genome Project.” / Facebook.com / Brian Jones PhotographyLongmont Potion Castle has been confounding people – including the likes of Eddie Money, Sidney Poitier, Kiefer Sutherland and Alex Trebek – for more than 30 years. He is the only person who has elevated the prank phone call into an art form and was featured at the Museum of Modern Art. Rolling Stone magazine dubbed him “America’s Underground Prank-Call King.”
The new documentary about him, “Where in the Hell is the Lavender House? The Story of Longmont Potion Castle,” will be screened at Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave., on Friday, June 28, at 8 p.m. The screening is presented by Shaking Ray Levi Society, CoPAC and Secret Weave.
And before the night’s over, Castle will call in to answer questions from the Barking Legs audience and perform prank phone calls.
This documentary is several movies in one, delving into the mysterious, anonymous legend and also documenting the struggle of rookie filmmakers to tackle a shadowy, unconventional subject.
His provocative, and sometimes infuriating, improvised phone conversations lean toward surrealism and Dadaism, with absurd scenarios involving zebras, weight-lifting binges, peacock meat or truckloads of peat moss. Sometimes manipulating his voice and adding disorienting sound effects, Castle’s calls transcend mere comedy and enter the realm of the truly bizarre and unfamiliar.