Jerry Springer--The Opera
I experienced Jerry Springer--The Opera last night. I say
"experienced" because one does not just view this show. I approached
the evening with a healthy mixture of curiosity, interest and abject
horror. Friends of mine in the cast had fed me brief snippets of the
show during the rehearsal period, so I didn't go into the house with
any sense of naivete. In short, this show has legs (albeit of the
fishnet-stockinged variety). It's a tour de farce.
I'm still trying to reach some sense of clarity about what I saw,
heard and experienced. It's a combination Springer show-biblical tale
with elements of Dante's Inferno and Don Juan In Hell, resplendent
with societal train wrecks: trannies, pole dancers, "infantile"
adults, rednecks, crack whores and a studio audience that acts as both
voyeur and Greek chorus. There are the usual brawls that break out
among studio guests, egged on by the audience, and Keith Patrick McCoy
is hysterical as Steve, Jerry's bewildered on-set "peacemaker." Oh,
and did I mention the tap-dancing members of the Ku Klux Klan and the
chorus line of Jerry Springer look-a-likes? And then there's the
eternal struggle between the forces of good (Jesus and The King
himself, God) and evil (Satan, as sung by the multi-talented Michael
Detroit), played out on a parallel Springer show set further south of
terra firma.
It was a wild house for the show; and, judging from the comments from
many cast members afterward, they were quite pleased that the audience
was homegrown. They have worked on this show for weeks, and I know
they were glad to finally see how it would play in front of an
audience. Bob Hetherington has done an amazing directing job with such
a controversial show. Every one of the principal players does a
standout job, and there is no weak element in the show. Carla McDonald
is especially wonderful as a woman with a dream to dance...and that's
all I'm saying, and Andrew Weir is hysterical as her husband with
something extra...again, that's all I'm saying! More than anything,
props must be given to Jim Hopkins, who undertakes the difficult role
of the man himself...the hostest with the mostest (misfit guests, that
is), Jerry Springer! But for him and his characterization, this show
would simply be called The Opera.
The material is not for the squeamish. In fact, Playhouse has a page
on its website that lists all of the objectionable words used in the
show. Of those words, it's quite unusual to hear them hurled with such
frequency, ferocity and melody. The vocal acrobatics demonstrated by
the principals and ensemble is amazing, especially considering the
material they are singing, once again indicating that there is even
beauty in the profane.
Following a viewing of the controversial D.W. Griffith epic, The
Birth of a Nation, in 1915, then-president and former history
professor Woodrow Wilson said, "It is like history writ with
lightning." Of Jerry Springer--The Opera, I can say it is like a
morality play writ with psychotropics.
Memphis is fortunate to be afforded the opportunity to do/see a show
that has terrified other cities, including New York, owing to its
controversial nature. Go see it! I will again.
"experienced" because one does not just view this show. I approached
the evening with a healthy mixture of curiosity, interest and abject
horror. Friends of mine in the cast had fed me brief snippets of the
show during the rehearsal period, so I didn't go into the house with
any sense of naivete. In short, this show has legs (albeit of the
fishnet-stockinged variety). It's a tour de farce.
I'm still trying to reach some sense of clarity about what I saw,
heard and experienced. It's a combination Springer show-biblical tale
with elements of Dante's Inferno and Don Juan In Hell, resplendent
with societal train wrecks: trannies, pole dancers, "infantile"
adults, rednecks, crack whores and a studio audience that acts as both
voyeur and Greek chorus. There are the usual brawls that break out
among studio guests, egged on by the audience, and Keith Patrick McCoy
is hysterical as Steve, Jerry's bewildered on-set "peacemaker." Oh,
and did I mention the tap-dancing members of the Ku Klux Klan and the
chorus line of Jerry Springer look-a-likes? And then there's the
eternal struggle between the forces of good (Jesus and The King
himself, God) and evil (Satan, as sung by the multi-talented Michael
Detroit), played out on a parallel Springer show set further south of
terra firma.
It was a wild house for the show; and, judging from the comments from
many cast members afterward, they were quite pleased that the audience
was homegrown. They have worked on this show for weeks, and I know
they were glad to finally see how it would play in front of an
audience. Bob Hetherington has done an amazing directing job with such
a controversial show. Every one of the principal players does a
standout job, and there is no weak element in the show. Carla McDonald
is especially wonderful as a woman with a dream to dance...and that's
all I'm saying, and Andrew Weir is hysterical as her husband with
something extra...again, that's all I'm saying! More than anything,
props must be given to Jim Hopkins, who undertakes the difficult role
of the man himself...the hostest with the mostest (misfit guests, that
is), Jerry Springer! But for him and his characterization, this show
would simply be called The Opera.
The material is not for the squeamish. In fact, Playhouse has a page
on its website that lists all of the objectionable words used in the
show. Of those words, it's quite unusual to hear them hurled with such
frequency, ferocity and melody. The vocal acrobatics demonstrated by
the principals and ensemble is amazing, especially considering the
material they are singing, once again indicating that there is even
beauty in the profane.
Following a viewing of the controversial D.W. Griffith epic, The
Birth of a Nation, in 1915, then-president and former history
professor Woodrow Wilson said, "It is like history writ with
lightning." Of Jerry Springer--The Opera, I can say it is like a
morality play writ with psychotropics.
Memphis is fortunate to be afforded the opportunity to do/see a show
that has terrified other cities, including New York, owing to its
controversial nature. Go see it! I will again.