Jerry Springer - The (Immature) Opera

I saw the UK production a couple years back when I had a night in London by myself and was in tears laughing. I recall thinking "there is no way this will ever be staged in the USA"...

Sounds like like the TV show.... trashy and low brow.

You know, folks, this isn't meant to be legitimate theatre. Treating it as such only lowers the fun you have.

You know, Mr. Dunn, for someone who bills himself as an "Innovator", you have a very narrow, jaded mind.

So your expectations were low; you thought it would be a lot like the actual "Jerry Springer Show", which bores you so much that you just leave it on to provide background noise while you're doing something else; and yet, you actually came to see this show, and walked out because you "couldn't take any more of the immature content". You remind me of the people who'd go to see "Phantom of the Opera", then walk out because they hated musicals.

Clearly, you knew that you probably wouldn't like what you were about to see, so why did you even bother? Was it because you got a free ticket and couldn't find anyone else to give it to? Or did you just want to say you'd seen it? Or perhaps you were looking for an excuse to pretend to be a legitimate reviewer while bitching about how trashy it was?

Did you even TRY to appreciate the complexity of the music, particularly the choral work? Did you recognize an actual FUGUE in the score? Did you spot the subtle musical jokes, like the passage which is the inverse of "Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd", or the fact that the character with the scatological fetish starts scat-singing?

Did it ever occur to you that this production, unlike any of the previous ones, mines the underlying terrible tragedy, rather than just going for the easy, superficial laughs? This production shows how these characters died horribly after pursuing legitimacy through their 15 minutes of fame on the Springer TV show.


You also need to get your facts straight.

There is only one "cracked out guest" in the show, and she is portrayed as a tragic train-wreck of a figure, for the brief time she's onstage.

"Jerry Springer - The Opera" was NEVER "turned into a BBC television series for a short time".

A single performance was recorded, and was broadcast by the BBC on ONE NIGHT. Due to agitation by radical Christian groups, the BBC received tens of thousands of complaints in advance of the broadcast, but only a handful afterwards. However, some of the advance complaints included death threats (so much for Christ's message of "love thy neighbour as thyself"), so several BBC executives and their families were moved to safe houses on the weekend of the broadcast.

The show has been broadcast here on Bravo several times, with no death threats. And there hasn't been a single protest over the current Toronto production.

As for your claim to have "noticed more yawning and expressions of boredom, than laughter or gasps of shock", you were probably just sitting in front of a mirror. When I saw it, people were everything BUT bored. Some were shocked; some were disgusted, and most were laughing a lot. Many industry people (including the head of the Stratford Festival, and one of Canada's leading comedy actresses) have raved about the show.

So pardon me if I refuse to accept the opinions of a self-styled theatre critic who can only express his views in the forum of a blog.

Did Duncan produce the show or something? :)

Actually I produced the show...and everybody is entitled to their opinion - that's the great thing about Theatre. Toronto has loved this show however - the sold out houses speak for themselves.

The show itself is brilliant - the London production was at once profound and profane. However, Ouzounian made some shockingly bad directorial decisions that ruined it for me. His direction of Jonathan/Satan to play as a fey nebbish throughout was poor. Not a sufficient foil for Springer in the first act; not sufficiently menacing in the second. Switching the intended dual casting of Montel/Jesus and Chucky/Adam was just wrong - did Ouzounian miss the entire point of the script? The idea is that the second act character is supposed to be BABY Jesus, not crucified, JC-Superstar Jesus, while the marital disharmony between Shawntel and Chucky is supposed to be mirrored by Adam and Eve. Even the joke with the (un)dead Baby Jane was ruined by misplacing the murder weapon with the handle up rather than down during her second-act "Momma Give Me Smack on the Asshole" reprise. This is either a complete misunderstanding of the intent of the script or simply sloppy directing, for which Ouzounian would undoubtedly lambaste a director under other circumstances.

Other glaring directorial errors: the purgatory scene was supposed to be set in a hospital, with Jerry Springer surrounded by nurses. Instead we get a random assortment of costumed characters, none of whom connected with anything (caricature Hassidic rabbi?! What the fuck?!) The commercials were cut, which provide a counterpoint to the on-stage goings on, and a foreshadowing of the first act climax. Neither Montel's diaper number nor Satan's description of the various ways Springer is to be cooked in hell were sufficiently vampy or campy. And finally, the Jerry Springer character himself has a number of ironic response lines ("you seem upset") which were just thrown away, rather than properly delivered.

Amateur theatre can be incredibly well done - just attend almost anything done by Toronto Youth Theatre (their Urinetown and Cabaret were both professional quality, cast almost exclusively with high-school age amateur performers). The university-student cast did their best and sang their hearts out. Unfortunately, the director is a better critic than chef.

Mark, clearly you are unaware of the fact that Richard Thomas himself actually came to closing night. He did enjoy the show, and hey what would you know?? He's the writer/composer! No matter what level of theatre, directors/producers will always change things. Not to mention the fact that yes, in fact Jesus was supposed to be crucified in the 2'nd act. The original production is 3 acts which is why you are perhaps a bit confused. The on the road production I believe is only supposed to be 2 acts.

This show was brilliant. Great to read all about it again.