JERRY SPRINGER—THE OPERA
Music & lyrics by Richard Thomas
Book & additional lyrics by Stewart Lee & Richard Thomas
Choreography by Chris Bailey
Directed by John Rando
The New Group at the Pershing Square Signature Center
The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre
480 West 42nd Street, (212) 279-4200
www.thenewgroup.org

By Scott Harrah

Jerry Springer—The Opera was originally produced in Britain back in 2003 and received an Olivier for Best Musical. Other than a two-day concert staging at Carnegie Hall a decade ago, this profane, sung-through parody of the infamous tabloid TV talk has been absent from the New York stage until now. It’s certainly been worth the wait because this off-Broadway production is original and marvelously entertaining.

Some of the subject matter—from tap-dancing Ku Klux Klansmen to strippers, a transgender tramp and a man with a diaper fetish—was probably shocking 15 years ago, but not in modern-day America, with the wackiness of Washington and our reality TV star president giving us a daily dose of surrealistic news that is more bizarre than anything on Jerry Springer’s show.

Theater veterans Terrence Mann as Jerry Springer, and Will Swenson as his Warm-Up Man, play the leads with comic precision. Act I is basically a musical version of over-the-top staples from Springer’s show: a man, Dwight (Luke Grooms) cheating on his fiancé, Peaches (Florrie Bagel) with her best friend, Zandra (Beth Kirkpatrick) and a midriff-bearing transsexual, Tremont (Sean Patrick Doyle). There’s also a redneck, Chucky (Nathaniel Hackmann) and his wife Shawntel (Tiffany Mann), a woman with dreams of becoming a pole dancer. Plus, a man in a diaper and his girlfriend, a character called Baby Jane (Jill Paice), and more.

F-bombs abound in the numerous hilarious songs written and composed by Richard Thomas, from “Talk to the Hand” and “Mama Gimme Smack” to “Put Your F***in’ Clothes On.” Act I breezes by with scatological glory, but just like watching an episode of Springer’s show, the shock value eventually wears thin by Acts II and III. These later acts of the musical are set in Purgatory and Hell, with Mr. Swenson doubling as Satan himself. Of course, there are characters poking fun at Jesus and the Virgin Mary with blasphemous zeal. After the seamless first act, the show unravels a bit and makes little sense, but it’s all so much fun that one doesn’t mind. Just enjoy the insane ride.

Why did it take so long for Jerry Springer—The Opera to arrive on this side of the Atlantic? Who knows. The British invented the tabloid press and nurtured the concept of reality TV long before us, so perhaps one could say the U.K. has a bigger appetite and appreciation for “schlock” than America.

Theater purists and the easily offended may argue that Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee’s creation simply wasn’t good enough for a mainstream U.S. production, but it must be noted they wrote this foul-mouthed “opera” eight years before the derisive, impudent Book of Mormon became a phenomenon. For this fact alone, the show was ahead of its proverbial time.

There are numerous standouts, especially Terrence Mann as Jerry Springer and Will Swenson as Warm-Up Man/Satan. The cast is uniformly superb, with strong and melodic voices. In particular, Tiffany Mann as Shawntel is in especially fine voice doing her show-stopper “I Just Wanna Dance.” Tony winner John Rando directs all the insanity with amazing precision, and that’s no easy task in a small venue with a 17-member cast in a production as ambitious as this, with performances that are consistently and beautifully outrageous in all the right places.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published February 25, 2018
Reviewed at February 24, 2018 performance.

‘JERRY SPRINGER: THE OPERA’: Will Swenson & Terrence Mann. Photo: Monique Carboni

‘JERRY SPRINGER: THE OPERA’: Tiffany Mann. Photo: Monique Carboni

‘JERRY SPRINGER-THE OPERA’: (left to right) Terrence Mann & Jill Paice & cast. Photo: Monique Carboni

‘JERRY SPRINGER-THE MUSICAL’: Terrence Mann (far left) & cast. Photo: Monique Carboni

‘JERRY SPRINGER-THE OPERA’: Nathaniel Hackmann, Tiffany Mann & (top right) Billy Hepfinger. Photo: Monique Carboni

‘JERRY SPRINGER-THE OPERA’: (left to right) Florrie Bagel, Luke Grooms & Terrence Mann. Photo: Monique Carboni

“JERRY SPRINGER-THE OPERA’: Jill Paice (center) & cast. Photo: Monique Carboni

The post ‘Jerry Springer—The Opera’: Lowbrow meets high art appeared first on StageZine.

‘ALL THE FINE BOYS’: Abigail Breslin & Joe Tippett. Photo: Monique Carboni

ALL THE FINE BOYS
Written & directed by Erica Schmidt
Through March 26, 2017
The New Group at Pershing Square Signature Center
480 West 42nd Street
(212-279-4200), www.thenewgroup.org

By Scott Harrah

The limits and boundaries of two teenage girls’ innocence and coming-of-age sexual identities are explored with gritty sincerity in suburban 1980s South Carolina in Erica Schmidt’s dark, disturbing All the Fine Boys.

Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin is the obvious draw here, but she’s part of a truly gifted ensemble. Ms. Breslin plays 14-year-old Jenny. She and her best friend Emily (Isabelle Fuhrman) both enjoy hanging out in the basement watching “slasher” horror movies, and they are anxious for real experience with boys. In their world, this means seeking older guys. The paths each choose, of course, has different levels of danger.

Emily selects a senior boy from her high school’s play, Adam (Alex Wolff), while Jenny goes after a man she has seen at her family’s church, Joseph (Joe Tippett). The play, at just one hour and 40 minutes with no intermission, focuses on each girl’s story.

Emily is fascinated by Adam, who’s into music and poetry, and she idolizes the guy. He is just a few years older than her. Meanwhile, Jenny’s story is a bit complicated since Joseph is twice her age at 28.

Playwright/director Erica Schmidt weaves the narrative of the two girls together beautifully, complete with 1980s classic pop songs, showing the parallels of each and their troubling twists. On the surface this appears to be a harmless account of two teenagers experiencing boys for the first time. However, the girls’ innocence will soon be shattered.

Ms. Breslin wonderfully portrays Jenny, a girl who enjoys eating Pringles potato chips and Twizzlers and experiments with cigarette smoking. She has everything about Jenny down, from the smoldering adult sensuality to the awkward vulnerability to the gawky mannerisms. She is every teen who has ever wanted to simply fit in. Jenny is a teen wanting desperately to appear grown up, but is too inexperienced and naïve to comprehend what it really means to get involved with an adult man. Ms. Breslin has definitely come a long way from her breakout role as the child beauty queen in Little Miss Sunshine.

Equally effective are Isabelle Fuhrman as her best friend Emily and Mr. Wolff as the theater nerd/musician who teaches her about poetry, Morrissey and the Smiths.

Joe Tippett gives a marvelously subtle portrayal of Joseph, the handsome man Jenny knows from church. He at first appears innocuous, almost apologetic for being attracted to someone so young, but it is unsettling watching his personality change as the plot unfolds.

Erica Schmidt does a fine job of blending the different scenes as the setting shifts, from Jenny and Joseph to Emily and Adam, all on a small stage. The cast are all so natural, and the dialogue so believable that we are left rattled by the many twists, even if some are ultimately a bit cliché. Although Ms. Schmidt has not chosen the most original subject matter, there is enough stellar acting here to make us overlook the sometimes too-familiar territory of adolescent angst and teenage sexuality.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 1, 2017
Reviewed at press performance on February 25, 2017

‘ALL THE FINE BOYS’: Isabelle Fuhrman & Alex Wolff. Photo: Monique Carboni

‘ALL THE FINE BOYS’: Abigail Breslin & Joe Tippett. Photo: Monique Carboni

The post ‘All the Fine Boys’ a dark teen tale appeared first on StageZine.