Oh, No They Didn't: Theatre of the Scandalous

Fifty plus years ago we had Cole Porter putting lyrics like "If young bares you like, or me undressed you like", in the mouth of stars like Ethel Merman. Theatre was full of sex and debauchery, it was veiled, hidden, by clever lyrics, innuendo, and clever staging. Let's fast forward to the summer of love, when the limits of theatre were breached by a tribal love rock musical called Hair. traditional Broadway was under attack by the outside hippie generation, and the days of insinuating were through, there in front of thousands of people were (allow me to be blatant) tits and ass. Needless to say it set a new president for what would be permitted and accepted by the American public.

In the tradition of Hair, shows nowadays (many tastefully done, some no so much) try to sell the scandal of theatre, not the art. I'm not saying that nudity in theatre is cheap or tawdry - I'll be the first in line when the marquee says FULL FRONTAL! - I'm merely saying it's not so much a shock anymore, and that shows are looking for other ways to shock. I know you're wondering about now, what the hell does this have to do with NYMF, and I'm getting there, I promise, you just have to sit back and ride with me down this slippery slope. Are you willing?
Okay, let's begin.
It started with Hair, the short running nonlinear musical about the love generation, a powerful antiwar musical, in it's time. Now Hair is dated, the metaphors seem passe, and even in our current state (God Bless President Bush, nobody else will) the make love not war metaphor is lost. BUT, people still line up to see it. Not to say Hair isn't good, hell it's a lot of fun, but what drives the piece, what makes people come to see it, with high hopes? Nudity - at least that's why I went to see it. The audience waits with baited breath for the trousers to drop and the bodies to writhe. It's not shameful (those of you out there shaking your heads, and calling me a pervert, ask yourself, if it doesn't thrill you just a bit to see all that exposed flesh? Yeah, that's what I thought. Whose the pervert now?), it's exhilarating.
Show number two (as far as this blog goes). Recently on the West End a show about horse sex, and a certain naked teen celebrity made a resounding splash, a splash big enough to make a wave large enough, to ride to New York. Daniel Radcliffe, of Harry Potter fame, bared all for his art, in the revival of Peter Schaeffer's Equus. Now, I won't argue that Schaeffer is talented (if I could hone that kind of skill, well, let's just say I'd be writing my way onto the stage of the Shubert Theatre), and the play is wonderful, but what really caused all those people to see the shows once more? To relive their childhood angst? To step back in time, when theatre was about character? I think not. I mean yes a show as moving and as powerful as Equus is reason enough, and I would go see it, regardless of who was in it, but the real driving power of it's success lies in the crotch of a naked young man. (I can feel the fires in some of your eyes burning from here, for any hate mail please see my first blog.) The nudity of such a prominent teen figure created a surge of controversy, and controversy sells tickets - out on a limb I go, again, recall Spring Awakening: children having sex on stage, curse words thrown, controversial material sells in our modern age. And also, I have seen the shots from Equus, the uncensored ones, and I'm still going, not just for the scandal, but because I love the show (so nah nah ne nah to all you people who are vilifying me).
Drum roll please...
Show number three is... Love Kills. Aha, I hear you say, now he gets to the stuff I really care about, the festival.
Yes, here is my spoiler for you guys: FULL FRONTAL in Love Kills, and am I excited about it? Well, hell yes. Again, I feel like I have to say this every time I get excited about cheap thrills, I'm excited about the material as well. In case you don't know, Love Kills is the story of America's first teen spree killers, the story was the basis for Oliver Stone's movie Natural Born Killers, and it has full frontal.
Where am I going with this?

Kiddo, here's the thing: SEX SELLS!!!!! We live in a day and age where the general American public is not shocked by much, even the prospect of nudity on stage isn't that new (as we have learned from above). I'm wondering where the theatre world is heading. I'm an advocate for the golden age of theatre when everything taboo was tricky and the writing as well as the production were smart and witty about where and how they would talk about touchy issues. Spring Awakening, Rent, Hair, all groundbreaking shows, in a medium where there are no boundaries, but the question still remains: is it better that we can come right out and say, "Hey I'm twelve, Mama, and if I wanna boff my fifteen year old boyfriend, who are you to say no!" American teens are turning to theatre now, more than they ever have before, and it's time that theatre be held accountable. (Age sets me apart from this generation, as much as it sets my parents apart from me). I'm all for freedom to say what you want and how, but are we now experiencing a wave of theatre that is merely shocking us because they can, or because there is something serious to say? When the shock value serves to move the plot along or to be a punctuation for your statement, go for, but if we're just doing it to do it, then it seems to be pointless.

I'm not saying that these shows don't use their shock to make a point, but I am using them as a way of making my point. All of the aforementioned shows can work without the nudity (I'm not sure about Love Kills, I'll let you know when I see it, but I think it goes for that show as well), and if they can work without, does it mean that the nudity is superfluous? Does it mean that the shock is just the shock? Or does it mean that we are thrill seeking people, out for the most tantalizing morsel we can get our hands on?
The answer to these questions are in you. I have officially bounced the ball into your court, do with it as you please, kiddo. Until later, I'll be seeing you around, maybe at the shows, maybe traipsing up Broadway in just my nickers (hey, it works for the Naked Cowboy).