April 4, 2026, 5:03 a.m. ET
Larry McCraw started his musical journey at the age of 16 on a $10 guitar. Having noticed his proclivity for the instrument on summer visits to see his cousin, his mother bought him an instruction book, and Larry never looked back.
As this was the late 1960s, the budding musician started by learning tunes like “The Lemon Tree” by Peter, Paul, and Mary. He recalls picking out a Beatles tune on a pipe organ during his first year of college at the University of Richmond, before transferring to Florida State University.
Now, McCraw is playing a musical role in “The Rise of Faustlandia,” opening April 17. It’s the first Mickee Faust Club performance since the theater group converted the former House of Music Tallahassee on South Monroe Street to its new Clubhouse.
It was in Tallahassee that McCraw played in his first band, Decent Banana, followed by other various projects, including The Junk Band and Ontological Elephant. Exploring sounds ranging from rock, blues, and jazz to experiments in power-pop, flamenco, and barbershop, McCraw flourished as a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, performer, and recording artist with deep roots in the local music scene.
The making of the maestro
Though McCraw’s official title is Music Director for the Mickee Faust Club, his cast and crew like to call him the “Music Maestro,” or as he sometimes introduces himself, “Sergeant Maestro of the Band.” He got involved with the theater group around 2003, when his friend brought him to see a show.
“It was pretty good. So then I saw another show – it was Mickee Faust doing Bertolt Brecht. It was weird, but we’re always weird.”
As it turned out, McCraw’s penchant for wacky songwriting meshed perfectly with the Mickee Faust Club’s tradition of jovial, absurdist comedy. He auditioned for the theater group with his song “Monkey Bungo” to great success and eventually assumed the role of Musical Director when the previous piano accompanist left.
“I just mainly provided the wacky stuff, because the old music director did lots of good piano with serious lyrics about political events.”
In his role, McCraw grew the company’s musical accompaniment into a full band called Rodentia Preharmonium, with their own album, “Wheels of Cheese” (available at all the company’s shows).
The Mickee Faust Club’s musical landscape typically consists of a mix of original songs and comedic parodies, requiring McCraw to compose, arrange, and perform songs, in addition to musically guiding the cast. He finds a great deal of joy in this work, explaining that he was originally drawn to the creative freedom the group afforded him:
“I was throwing in goofy things, like ‘Spaghetti Cow Person.’ That’s our politically correct homage to the spaghetti Western. And it’s a sing-along. We get people making noises that those kinds of movies would have, like rattles, sage brush, horses, gunfights…”
Off-the-wall sound effects, political commentary, boisterous sing-alongs, and queer anthems are all staples of the Mickee Faust Club. The company proudly promotes in its vision statement the idea to “welcome everyone, especially those in the local community whose creativity is underserved and overlooked.”
“For a lot of the people in it,” McCraw says of the Mickee Faust Club, “it’s just a place to be accepted and to do something creative and expressive with a group of people. I was drawn for that aspect — it’s the only place I could do a lot of these songs.”
Faustlandia, onstage and off
Mickee Faust’s current show, “The Rise of Faustlandia,” will feature a variety of arrangements, including song parodies of Chappell Roan and Elton John, as well as a gospel tune from the 1997 Disney animated film “Hercules.”
The show’s flyer touts “Comedy, Music, and Mayhem,” with musical numbers punctuating political commentary, and sketches and skits riffing on pop culture icons like Superman and Dracula. Every Mickee Faust Club show consists of original material written by members of the company, both local and around the world. This show includes two original songs written by McCraw himself.
According to their website, the Mickee Faust Club has, for nearly four decades, “made space—sometimes literally out of nothing — for artists who are too queer, too disabled, too poor, too loud, too political, or too weird for traditional stages.”
Though the theater company’s venue has changed over time, from the former location of The Warehouse on Gaines Street to a Railroad Square building that saw devastating damage during the 2024 tornadoes, the Mickee Faust Club has remained consistent in its mission to provide an accessible, alternative performing arts venue and social gathering place.
“The Rise of Faustlandia” will be Mickee Faust’s first performance since officially converting the former House of Music Tallahassee on South Monroe Street to its new home, the Mickee Faust Clubhouse.
A strong collaborator and pillar of the Mickee Faust community, McCraw wears many hats that extend beyond his title of Music Director. He has played an instrumental role in updating the new location, with plans to build an outdoor stage and seating area.
His landscaping and maintenance work, as well as his overseeing of the installation of sound-dampening panels for the space, are all in the interest of offering a top-tier experience for cast members, audiences, and future groups who wish to rent the space.
McCraw’s deep involvement in the Faust community has included serving as Master of Ceremonies for Punk’n Chuck’n, an event where post-Halloween pumpkins are “chucked” and contestants are awarded prizes based on tosses, costumes, and more.
McCraw also hosted Faust First Fridays while the company occupied its former Railroad Square space. And he has performed in and music-directed a vast array of concerts, cabarets, and other venue performances, including Faust’s 2025 Pridefest performance at Cascades Park.
Humble as he is, McCraw is a wellspring of knowledge and experience. The more you talk with him, the more you uncover his rich musical accomplishments. He played rhythm guitar in the Tallahassee Swing band for 27 years. He had a song placed on the infamous Dr. Demento show.
His current band, The Real McCraw Daddies, which features a range of “junkyard instruments” including the washtub bass, shares members with J.B.’s ZydecoZoo.
When asked what drives his passion for music, McCraw simply responds, “It’s just the way I am. The way I exist.”
A musician and artist at his core, McCraw is a crucial part of the Mickee Faust Club’s fabric and a leader his fellow Faustkateers depend on. Creative feats such as the company’s lively, hilarious, and unconventional performances would not be possible without people like him.
You too can partake in the wacky, wonderful world of the Mickee Faust Club by seeing their upcoming show at the new Mickee Faust Clubhouse, opening on April 17.
If you go
What: “The Rise of Faustlandia” presented by The Mickee Faust Club
When: 8 p.m. April 17-18 and April 23-24
Where: Mickee Faust Clubhouse, 2011 S Monroe St.
Cost: $15/$20
Details: mickeefaust.com
Dorie Spangler is the Arts Education Coordinator & Public Art Assistant for the Council on Culture & Arts (COCA). COCA is the capital area’s umbrella agency for arts and culture (tallahasseearts.org).