Jerry Springer: The Opera?

[South Florida]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 3:21pm

Can one of you folks tell me why this never had a Broadway run?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 3:24pm

Too controversial. Broadway producers wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. It would get a lot of attention and probably good reviews with the right cast and production, but the backlash would be nuts.

[South Florida]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 3:53pm

Thanks, pity, if the pole dancer song is any indication of the rest of the show we're missing a good one.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 4:46pm

The show (and especially its score) is amazing. The London production was broadcast on BBC and distributed on DVD (PAL only) and I think it can be viewed in its entirety on that site. If you haven't seen or heard the entire show (especially the second act), then I can understand why you'd ask this question. Book of Mormon is a Disney cartoon by comparison. And though it created quite a stir in London, from both the West End production and the BBC broadcast, it still managed to win Best Musical.

[South Florida]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 4:52pm

Thanks, makes Mormon look like Disney, that's quite an endorsement.

[tazber]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 5:00pm

I must say that I laughed constantly. Having the choir be the audience was genius.

It really is more of an opera musically, but there are some great showtuney bits like "I Want to Dance".

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 5:37pm

It did play New York ad a 2 night concert, it played Carnegie Hall and starred Harvey Kietel and the concert got a flat out rave by Ben Brantley.

In 2004 it was announced that a Broadway production would happen, I guess that has been scrapped.

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 6:32pm

Probably because it's awful. I don't have any problem with profanity in a show, but tap dancing KKK members and an intentionally horrendous treatment of religious themes plus its blatant misogyny made this a theatre night that the creators of the show should be ashamed of.

[ARTc3]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 7:09pm

It was horrible. I saw this in London and was appalled at how juvenile and poorly written it was. I didn't think the score was even listenable. I remember only the lyric referring to lesbians and chocolate.

What a piece of $!&#.

[aliceripleyfan]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 7:13pm

Its Brilliant

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 9:45pm

Sorry guys, I'm with Artc3 and MJohnson on this one. Deplorable piece of amateur trash.

Similarities with Book of Mormon are overwhelming in retrospect-- including an extended sequence in Hell they both share. The world of Jerry Springer guests is a world I wanted to spend as little time in as possible to start with. Then came the amateur lyrics in song after song. Most of all it felt (much like my response to "Mormon") like a show written for the benefit of people who hate musicals, who find the idea of folks singing and dancing innately laughable. I was so relieved when it was finally over. (P.S. My good friends who saw the show with me just loved it to pieces -- so there ya go.)

[Owen22]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 10:55pm

It wasn't very good, but it was audacious. And some of the music was sorta amazing at times. The lyrics were universally amateurish.

[whatever2]

Posted: 9/5/14 at 11:12pm

well, dip me in chocolate and throw me to the lesbians - i've seen it twice, and never heard a negative comment until this thread.

i would respectfully submit that the bits people (fairly) found juvenile were an attempt to remain true to the source material.

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 9/6/14 at 12:32am

I didn't even like BOOK OF MORMON and I thought that BOM could be considered a masterwork along the lines of CAROUSEL when compared to this show. Normally I'm not into people repeatedly posting how much they disliked a show, but when it comes to this show I can't say it enough.

[IndyTheatreGeek]

Posted: 9/6/14 at 4:18am

I saw it in London with David Soul playing Jerry Springer. I thought it was quite good. Perhaps it got a better reception over there because that's how many secretly perceive us in the US while we here hope the show does not mirror our society.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/6/14 at 4:35am

The production I saw was a piece of crap, the material's awful. I don't give a **** if Americans look like assholes in theater pieces, if the shoe fits.

[dreaming]

Posted: 9/6/14 at 6:20am

I love the opera and am a frequent audience member. I'd love to see the bridge between musicals and opera get crossed and this is the type of work that could go a long way towards that.

I also think that it would be nice to have something adult (I know, Book of Mormon-which I really like). We just seem to get all these children's shows and I'd like something that appeals to a different audience.

I mean I'd like to see Heggie's work on stage (he's not as controversial but his work would be a great crossover). Something like this could open the door for Heggie and others on Broadway.

[South Florida]

Posted: 9/6/14 at 7:53am

Not much in between on this one.