Wednesday, February 15, 2006

"Jerry Springer -- The Opera"

That's the deliriously funny title for a terrific UK musical. (The first act is sheer genius, the second one merely very funny.) The show is exactly as you might imagine: a silly spin on Jerry Springer, with the talk show host greeting the usual guests; but with everyone singing in mock operatic voices and cursing up a storm, it's breath-takingly funny. It played to massive acclaim at the National, but its commercial transfer failed to live up to expectations. Then the show was shown on TV, to some angry dissent by folks who thought it was anti-Christian. (The BBC's refreshing response: if you might be offended, don't watch.) Now the show has been on tour, dogged by a handful of protestors. Since a Broadway production has come to naught and the show is probably too big to make sense Off Broadway (where it could run and run, frankly), this diary from the director on the road with the show is as close as we'll likely get to it right now. My favorite quote:
"For the record, there aren't 8,000 swear words. There are 174. And Jesus isn't in a nappy. OK?"

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember that title -- who could forget it? It's never coming to the US? Bummer.

Anonymous said...

I saw it in London. Funnier than The Producers. It was just bizarre and wonderful to hear trtailer trash sing "What the fuck! What the fuck! What the fuuuuuck!" Hilarious.

Anonymous said...

Saw the TV adaptation of the British production (David Soul playing Jerry) on Bravo in Canada. Thought it was genius...and the music and perfs were first rate