Theater and Stage
Le Bellybutton
A forgotten moment in post-HAIR theater.'Nudie' musicals presented nudity onstage in a way that said 'sex is beautiful and natural and fun and there's no need to be afraid of it'. Unlike XXX theatre, Peep shows, and sex clubs, sex in these musicals was always simulated, never real. These musicals validated the sexual revolution happening outside with shows like Hair, Oh! Calcutta!, Stag Movie, Let My People Come, Le Bellybutton.
Article source.
More photos here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 07, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Regionalism, Sexuality, Theater and Stage, 1970s
250 Times I Saw a Play
Keith Odo Newman, whom the Guardian has described as "a homosexual Austrian psychoanalyst," authored 250 Times I Saw A Play, which was published in 1944. As the title suggests, it describes his experience of watching a play 250 times. The play was Flare Path by Terence Rattigan.
The backstory here is that Newman was Rattigan's doctor. According to TactNYC.org:
For some reason, Rattigan asked Newman to personally direct the performance of the lead actor in the play, Jack Watling, and Newman proceeded to become obsessed with Watling. Which is why, I assume, Newman ended up watching the play 250 times. Rattigan's biographer, Geoffrey Wansell, offers more details:
At this stage Newman had not made a homosexual pass at Watling. That came later. Newman simply frightened him beyond words. 'I couldn't do anything without asking his permission. I was heterosexual then, and I am now, but Newman pretty much gave me a nervous breakdown. I couldn't cope with him.' Why Newman had this power, or why people submitted to him, Watling is just as unable to explain now as he was then.
After completing his odd book, Newman sent the manuscript to George Bernard Shaw, who wrote back with a few of his thoughts about it. Shaw's comments weren't very complimentary, but Newman nevertheless included a facsimile of them at the front of the book. Shaw wrote:
Sure enough, Newman was subsequently certified insane and died in a mental institution.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 02, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Theater and Stage, Books, 1940s
Revolt of the Beavers
The more things change, the more they stay the same...Revolt of the Beavers was a children's play put on by the Federal Theater Project by Oscar Saul and Louis Lantz. One critic described the play as "Marxism a la Mother Goose".[1] The show ran at the Adelphi Theatre in New York City from May 20, 1937, to June 19 of that year.[2] Jules Dassin [3] and John Randolph [4] were among the play's cast. The play involved a worker beaver named Oakleaf, who leads a revolt against "The Chief" Beaver who was exploiting the workers. Though the play was a fantasy fable intended for children, it was attacked by the HUAC for promoting Communist ideals.
Wikipedia page (source of quote).
More photos here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 22, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Anthropomorphism, Politics, Theater and Stage, 1930s
Hamlet, the Rock Musical
Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 03, 2020 -
Comments (0)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Costumes and Masks, Death, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Pranks and Revenge, Theater and Stage, Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings, Pop Art, Foreign Customs, Seventeenth Century, Sixteenth Century, Brain Damage, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
Big Boot Dance
The performer is. Harry Relph, aka Little Tich. The performance was filmed at the 1900 Paris Exposition.More info: wikipedia
Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 04, 2019 -
Comments (2)
Category: ShowBiz, Theater and Stage, Vaudeville, Shoes, 1900s
Bathtubs Over Broadway
A new documentary about "industrial musicals" is just hitting selected theaters.The film's homepage.
The book that served as the source.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 27, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Theater and Stage, Industry, Factories and Manufacturing, Outsider Art, Surrealism, Twentieth Century
Via Galactica
One of Broadway's biggest flops.
NYT article here.
Wikipedia page here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 22, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Theater and Stage, Science Fiction, 1970s
Effect of Gamma Rays on Marigolds
Paul Zindel's play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1971. It inspired Paul Newman to make a film of the same name the next year.And in 1974 it inspired 13-year-old Danny Kleiner of Philadelphia to wonder what the effect of gamma rays on marigolds would be. So he made that his school science project. He used cobalt radiation to produce the gamma rays. Unfortunately, I don't know what the results of his experiment were.
I haven't read or seen Zindel's play so I don't know if a similar experiment is featured in the book. I'm guessing it must be. I wonder how many high school students were inspired by Zindel's play to do similar experiments?
Danny Kleiner examining his gamma-ray-exposed marigolds
via Temple University Library
Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 14, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Theater and Stage, Experiments, 1970s
Drive-In Opera
Back in 1989, the Norwegian National Opera staged the world's first (and only?) "drive-in opera" with a performance of the Barber of Seville broadcast live on a 225-square-foot movie screen in downtown Oslo. The idea was that people could watch the performance from their cars. This was supposed to be a way to bring opera to the masses, to let people know that "opera can be fun."However, the event didn't go quite as planned since the Norwegian audience wasn't quite clear on the "drive-in" concept. Most of them showed up on foot. And many of the cars that did show up parked facing away from the screen. More info at AP News Archive.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Feb 22, 2015 -
Comments (7)
Category: Music, Theater and Stage, 1980s
STREB Lab
"Superheroes" or not? Your call!
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 05, 2013 -
Comments (4)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Theater and Stage, Dance
| Who We Are |
|---|
| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |