(Picture from Facebook and New Stage)
I volunteered for New Stage Collective this weekend as an usher for Jerry Springer: The Opera, and I have one very strongly worded thing to say...
It was amazing.
The whole thing is an orgy of camp and insanity. It's funny because I guess I didn't know what I was getting into when I walked in the door -- are we noticing a theme here when I go to New Stage? LOL -- because I didn't know what all the fuss was about. I had heard about the protesters, but I didn't know why they were protesting.
After all, it's just a musical about the Jerry Springer show? Right?
Abso-fucking-lutely wrong.
Though the first Act (1 hour) was what you would expect from a musical about Jerry Springer, you start to realize one thing: this ain't no Broadway show. It is done in complete operatic style with only the narrator (Jerry Springer) speaking any of the words. For a Broadway queen like me, I found myself annoyed when things like I Just Wanna Dance come up and you just want this giant, drag-queen inspired dance number...
...but the opera is part of the camp. It makes it infinitely funnier. The actors at New Stage were excellent, and, though there were only a brief moment here or there (I can't really point one out because there were so few and far between) where you think the cast is in on the joke with you, they play it off dead pan and straight faced throughout.
But it's the second act (1.25 hrs), I discovered, that got people all riled up.
Apparently saying that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was "raped by an angel" is offensive to some people. Or, having Jesus imply that he's a little gay is wrong in some people's book. Blah blah blah. Go home and shut up protestors. The show is humorous and fun, and it's meant as a satire, not as anything serious.
If God did not mean us to have fun, he would not have given us the ability to laugh.
I 100% recommend this show. If you see nothing else ever in your lifetime, this one is worth your time and money (or simply your time, as volunteers get in for free -- Ms. Erica over there is more than willing, I'm sure, to take up as much of your time as you're willing to give :-) -- and PS some of the actors and workers there are HOT; seeing HotTom over there is always fun, though).
I don't want to run down the individual cast reviews, but I'll point out some highlights:
1) Will Reed (who plays God in the second act) is phenomenal. Thank God for him :-).
2) The guy who plays the trannie ("chick with a dick with a heart") is really very, very good... and to pull off that roll as a straight male, well, sister's got some acting talent!
3) The actress playing Baby Jane was beautiful and sentimental. That's a weird way to say that she put an amazing amount of emotion into that role. It stood out for me, moreso than any of the other recurring parts.
4) The I Just Wanna Fucking Dance ... I love a woman who is proud of her body and willing to show it off. And her voice was to die for.
Anyways, go see it, love it, and then check out next season ... *SQUEALS* HISTORY BOYS!!!!! *SQUEALS!!!* (I do know what that's about...)
LOL, I'm not very good at reviewing things. It's hard to say "God that's good" over and over and over again and not sound repetitive.
2 comments:
I've wanted to see this since I first read about it over a year ago! The dates I could make, no one else could and vice versa. I should just buy a ticket and go one day.
Woo-hoo! A neighbor has tix and asked me to go with her Thursday night because her husband doesn't want to go. She's not all that hot on the idea either, but she wants to go because one of the cast is the daughter of a close friend. It hadn't even occurred to me to check with her when I was looking for someone to go with, as I would have doubted this was her kind of thing. I'm chuffed!
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