The sound and the fury
In 2002 it was the toast of the Edinburgh Festival but then a TV airing attracted death threats and 63,000 complaints. The composer and co-writer of Jerry Springer — The Opera, looks back at one of the arts controversies of the decade.
learnt in 200l that if your small scale funny and
entertaining l't'inge show has the chance to he
scaled tip into an all—singing. all-dancing West lind hit. you lime to he ahle to guarantee the inyestors. or 'angels'. that the show has to he completely free of any lorni ol legal enctunhrance or outstanding claim today. tomorrow or at any point in the future eyer. Without that warranty they will not grace you with their angelic money and the show w ill not go on. lind of story.
So picture the scene. I‘m iii a puhlicly l‘unded Venue in l-ehruai‘y 200l. ahotit to do a puhlic workshop ol‘ a gem of an idea I had. llUll' to “Tire (HI ()pr'i'u About a thought I had stumhled upon when I had fallen into the liahit of. returning home from gigs and switching on late night talk show TV. l’eople L'tllllt‘\\lllg‘ and shouting at each other. the swear words hlecped otit. not a phrase heing heard properly. .-\n opera. l tliotiglit. .\'ow reiiieniher the time that this contemplation was happening: pre the planes going into the Twin 'lowers in New York. l’re UIH' inyolyetnettl in .-\lghanistan. l’re HIH' inyasion of Iraq. pre the cartoons of the prophet \lohanunad and at a time when our go\ernment wasn't trying to hring in laws which could kerh the potential works of potential artists.
\II I was selling ottt to do w as to write a good hit ol' entertainment: A two act musical/opera hased on a contemporary topic. During the puhlic workshops we kept getting great l‘eedhack from the audience and alter two further workshops in l.ondon. and knowing it needed more work. it felt right to turn down the ol‘l‘ers to take it straight into the West lind. .Ii'i‘ry's co-w t‘ilet'. director and the ltil—‘hlfi rc\|k‘ctcd comedian Stewart Ice and l hay e always had great faith
Jerry Springer
in the lidinhtirgh l’ringe liestiyal. So with a spirit of
hi‘Pc and the much eoyeted l‘ront coyer iii The l.i'.sI for the lirst week ol~ August 2002 tissue 44m. we all took the plunge. Day one in the large hall of the .-\ssemhly Rooms; of) people in the 800 seatci". day two the word- ollmouth declared it a hit and it sold out for the entire three-week run. But what seems now \ery peninent: not one single religious complaint. pi‘ohlem or eyen ungodly murmur. The piece was judged as a hit of theatre. The show went on to win four ()lixier .-\wards and make theatre history hy heing the lirst musical to hecome ‘Best .\hisical' in the four key awards. One night I popped in to see the show and found myself in the VIP room with (ilenn ('lose and Kylie \linogue while picking tip the phone from Dido to organise dinner.
Then 553 stage performances and around 425.000 theatregoers later. it was announced in January 2005 that the show was going on BB(‘2. liyen although the legitimate ('hristian media ((‘liim'li 'Iimes. The 'Iiiblr't.
10 THE LIST .‘ ‘.‘.‘i' .‘ \ "i
‘JERRY BELIEVES we IN FREE SPEECH AND WISHES HE'D THOUGHT OF THE IDEA FIRST '
.lr'ii'i‘s/i ('Iirriiii'i'lr' etc) had hroadly reyiewed the show layout'ahly. a plea was made from a minority '(‘hristian' group to follow Sikh otithursts at the play Ifr’lis/i in Birmingham and stated that it was time for the ('hristian Jesus to have his say. In short. they were determined to hijack ./('I‘I'_\' Springer The Opera for their own puhlicity means. l’uhlicity parasites they may he. hut now. following a record hreaking (i3.000 complaints to the Beeh. the show is on again with a
l'K-widc tour. The TV executiyes can come otit of
hiding following death threats. the excellent Scottish cancer charity Maggie‘s can hopefully carry on its good work (it was ‘allegedly‘ threatened hy a ('hristian group for eyen noting its intention to receiye funds raised from a special performance of" the West lind show organised hy the cast and crew) and finally the puhlic can once again make their own minds tip ahout this hit of theatre. thought our potentially inyestment—hursting. hig legal hurdle would he getting past The Man himsell':
(‘incinnati (the third largest city in
very powerful lawyers at Studio liS.\ the company that owns the TV show and all of its possihle representations. images. formats. concepts and income husting merchandise. But no. Jerry helieyed in the principles of free speech and wished that he had ‘thought of the idea lirst‘. Instead it was a small hunch ol' higots who almost ended the existence of this show. Scotland was crucial in the development of this piece. so whateyer happens when it goes to (ilasgow. Aherdeen and lidinhurgh is up to you. but I have just fallen into the dream that it might once again he judged as it was in 2002 in lidinhurgh. :\s a storming. l‘unny. slice of an. funded hy angels.
Kings Theatre, Glasgow, Mon 6-Sat 1 1 Mar; Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Mon 24-Sat 29 Apr.
the legally trained l‘ormer Mayor of
()hio) Mr Jerry Springer or the army of
PlUCKlNG FRUITS FROM THE CULTURAL BUSH
I Steven Splelberg Will begin filming the fourth Jurassic Park film next year With a release date penCilled in fOr 2008. Lexre. the granddaughter of Dickie Attenborough's character. Wlll take the lead in the new film . Meanwhile. Lord Attenborough himself is getting back behind the camera for Closmg the Ring. Set in Belfast and North Carolina during 1943 and 1993. the film begins when a US 8-17 crashes in Northern Ireland. With a dying gunner asking a local to return his ring to his girlfriend back in America. Mischa Barton and Shirley MacLalne are currently in talks to star . . . After cancelling a bunch of shows due to their Singer contracting laryngitis. Funeral tor a Friend Will be back touring in May. Edinburgh's Corn Exchange will welcome them at the end of that month . Round about then. Dylan Moran Wlll be raging against the inconSistenCies of the world at Glasgow's Pavilion. His show bears the title of Like Totally . . . Drew Barrymore and Jesslca Lange have agreed to star in Grey Gardens. a film which follows the story of two eccentric relatives of Jacqueline Kennedy who made headlines when the health department threatened to raid their home . . . Mogwal are recording tracks for Zi'dane: A 213! Century Portrait. the 90- minute movie from Douglas Gordon about the French footie genius . . . Kate Moss is tipped to play a lady lesbian in a future film based on the life of Dusty Springfield. The directorial reins will be taken by Ang Lee with Moss expected to play a sooalite who became one of the singer's early lovers. Charllze Theron is lined up be Dusty.