Jer-ry! Jer-ry!

Hey, look! It's a Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk post that's not about somebody going to jail. Just like the old days. I'm almost not writing about politics, either, but it's hard to escape that subject entirely these days. Tonight we went out to see Jerry Springer: The Opera in its American debut run, and what a grand theatrical evening it was.

Wait, you're probably asking yourself. Wasn't Jerry Springer: The Opera a huge hit in London a few years ago? Oh, then this is probably one of those pre-Broadway tryout shows. No, it's not that, either. Broadway did have it planned about three years ago, but somehow or another, they couldn't find the funding to produce it. Therefore, this production is in a small- to middle-size non-Equity house, with no plans (that I know of) to do anything further with the production once the show closes.

Sit through the show and you'll see why financiers didn't flock to it. I don't know whether I'd call it blasphemous or profane (I'd like to take more time to see specifically how those concepts work before committing myself one way or the other), but it doesn't require a great amount of imagination to figure out how to make the argument. Anyone producing this show on Broadway would become an easy target of the Christian Right, and back in 2004 when this was being contemplated, they seemed to have a great deal more power than they seem to today.

I'm falling asleep as I'm writing this. I may have more to say about the production later, but for now let's just say I found it tremendously funny, and I recommend it to anyone in the area with a high threshold for offensiveness. It was scheduled to close in about three weeks, but I heard talk tonight of its being extended, so time may not be as tight as that. That gives more time for Jerry himself to drop by. Once upon a time he attended the West End version of the show and claims to have liked it, but he's yet to make an appearance at his hometown production. (Is that because he wants distance from the show, or is it just one more example of poor promotion by Chicago theater?)

If you miss the show in Chicago, though, according to Wikipedia, some brave soul (or company) is planning to mount another production of the show in Memphis. My hat's off to the courageous producers, and I hope that they're not doing it out of some sort of death wish. Good luck!