Daily Archives: 7 July 2011

Betty Blue Eyes

Sigh. Why can’t we get sugary sweet little shows about big fat pigs and financial crises in America?

How great does that animatronic pig look? I know it’s impossible to judge a show based off a series of highlight clips like this, but I’ve seen enough to realize that this pig is impressive. The costumes look period appropriate and the choreography very high energy. I’d like to have heard more of the vocal score rather than a bunch of underscoring and out of context video, but the music sounds pretty good.

I’m almost positive a show this British (the selling point is austerity Britain) has no chance of transferring to Broadway (rumor has it it’s not doing great business anyway). But now I’m craving something syrupy, fluffy, and pretty and I don’t think Lysistrata Jones or that looming Annie revival is going to cut it for me.

What’s on your mind theatrically at the moment? Anything good running near you? Rumors about film adaptations or scandals? Spill it. The next best thing to watching both of the Babe films back to back right now is some good theater gossip.

Rapturepalooza; or, There Sure Are a Lot of NYC Productions about Christianity

A little over a month ago, we were threatened with the Rapture. Earthquakes were supposed to destroy the world around 5PM, though the exact time zone was never specified. This didn’t happen. However, I am willing to jump on the Rapture bandwagon and propose a tenuous connection between Harold Camping’s billboard blitz and the recent resurgence of Bible-themed productions hitting the NYC stages.

Even if it is a coincidence, there just seems to have been a larger than normal density of Christian-themed or inspired shows in the area. Last fall, playwright/actor Charles Busch put on a well-reviewed run of his nun-spoof The Divine Sister. This play saw him don a habit as all the cliches of nun-based theater–singing nuns, dancing nuns, nuns in peril, nuns questioning their faith, nuns becoming governesses, etc.–were skewered and adhered to in a way that only Charles Busch can do. It closed 20 days before the alleged Rapture.

Another nun play made it all the way to Broadway. High was a bit more risque in subject matter. A nun is put in charge of a young drug addict’s therapy and rehabilitation program, which only pushes her to danger of falling back into her old habits as well. The show did not receive great reviews, had poor box office performance, and closed 27 days before The Rapture.

More nuns arrived on Broadway around the same time.