JER-RY! JER-RY! JER-RY!
I saw Jerry Springer: The Opera on BBC2 tonight. There has been a lot of controversy over the airing with a record number of complaints (at least 7,361) to TV watchdogs for blasphemy and outcry ranging from raging church leaders to citizens burning their TV licences in protest. None of them had actually seen the production, of course.
I must preface this with the disclaimer that I am a big fan of musicals, even ones by Gilbert & Sullivan or Andrew Lloyd Webber. I saw my first musical (not including Disney On Ice, which doesn't count) when I was six or seven (it was Starlight Express, for the record) and I wrote my first musical when I was eight. I was in my first musical when I was ten (KIDS; I played the slutty weathergirl, starting many years of typecasting) and the majority of my voice training comes from being in five musicals during my time at Willow Hill. So I feel I can immodestly say that I know quite a bit about what makes a good musical, even if my taste in them can be more than a bit suspect.
Although I was looking forward to seeing Jerry Springer: The Opera, I was a bit concerned that it couldn't possibly live up to the hype. It was while watching the 'Making Of...' programme which constituted one-third of the 'Jerry Springer Night' programme that I started getting really excited about what I was shortly to see. I was a fan of the programme that the initial idea came out of, the clips looked fabulous and the explanation of its irreverent satire was turning up the anticipation.
(Seeing my favourite American expatriate Ruby Wax's behind-the-scenes programme of the actual Jerry Springer Show trying to convince the fiance and girlfriend of the woman who just told them that she was involved with both that they should form a triad was brilliant as well.)
The musical itself beat all expectations. I was completely bowled over; it was hilarious, amusing, disgusting and sad all at once -- and a chorus of operatic voices singing a call-response of 'chick with a dick' is really and truly not to be missed. The performances themselves were excellent and clearly done by actors with considerable talent, the choreography was intricate and complicated but pulled off to perfection en masse (especially the Klu Klux Klan tap-dancing and Jerry-impersonating final piece), and even the faux advertisements between sections of Jerry's 'show' in Act I were top-notch.
Mind you, I could have understood the outcry regarding the portrayal of Judeo-Christian mythology in Act II if those beating their chests in anger had seen it first. Equating the supposed immaculate conception with rape by God and having Eve masturbating Jesus could be offensive to some people, even in the context of the hallucinations of a dying man.
There were a few moments, especially in Act II, in which it seems that parts were added without consideration to how they meshed with the rest of the production. Overall, however, I think Jerry Springer: The Opera is a well-formed, well-choreographed, hilarious and incredibly enjoyable musical. Indeed, I cannot remember the last time I saw a musical as fabulous.
Musicals are always better live, although it's hard to imagine how this one could possibly be any better, I would have liked to see it at the National Theatre, but I will absolutely be buying a ticket to see it at the Cambridge Theatre for next time I'm in London as long as it's still going. All and sundry are welcome to come with -- let me know if you want to be kept abreast of future plans.
I must preface this with the disclaimer that I am a big fan of musicals, even ones by Gilbert & Sullivan or Andrew Lloyd Webber. I saw my first musical (not including Disney On Ice, which doesn't count) when I was six or seven (it was Starlight Express, for the record) and I wrote my first musical when I was eight. I was in my first musical when I was ten (KIDS; I played the slutty weathergirl, starting many years of typecasting) and the majority of my voice training comes from being in five musicals during my time at Willow Hill. So I feel I can immodestly say that I know quite a bit about what makes a good musical, even if my taste in them can be more than a bit suspect.
Although I was looking forward to seeing Jerry Springer: The Opera, I was a bit concerned that it couldn't possibly live up to the hype. It was while watching the 'Making Of...' programme which constituted one-third of the 'Jerry Springer Night' programme that I started getting really excited about what I was shortly to see. I was a fan of the programme that the initial idea came out of, the clips looked fabulous and the explanation of its irreverent satire was turning up the anticipation.
(Seeing my favourite American expatriate Ruby Wax's behind-the-scenes programme of the actual Jerry Springer Show trying to convince the fiance and girlfriend of the woman who just told them that she was involved with both that they should form a triad was brilliant as well.)
The musical itself beat all expectations. I was completely bowled over; it was hilarious, amusing, disgusting and sad all at once -- and a chorus of operatic voices singing a call-response of 'chick with a dick' is really and truly not to be missed. The performances themselves were excellent and clearly done by actors with considerable talent, the choreography was intricate and complicated but pulled off to perfection en masse (especially the Klu Klux Klan tap-dancing and Jerry-impersonating final piece), and even the faux advertisements between sections of Jerry's 'show' in Act I were top-notch.
Mind you, I could have understood the outcry regarding the portrayal of Judeo-Christian mythology in Act II if those beating their chests in anger had seen it first. Equating the supposed immaculate conception with rape by God and having Eve masturbating Jesus could be offensive to some people, even in the context of the hallucinations of a dying man.
There were a few moments, especially in Act II, in which it seems that parts were added without consideration to how they meshed with the rest of the production. Overall, however, I think Jerry Springer: The Opera is a well-formed, well-choreographed, hilarious and incredibly enjoyable musical. Indeed, I cannot remember the last time I saw a musical as fabulous.
Musicals are always better live, although it's hard to imagine how this one could possibly be any better, I would have liked to see it at the National Theatre, but I will absolutely be buying a ticket to see it at the Cambridge Theatre for next time I'm in London as long as it's still going. All and sundry are welcome to come with -- let me know if you want to be kept abreast of future plans.