Family entertainment isn’t kids’ stuff anymore

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kport
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Family entertainment isn’t kids’ stuff anymore

Post by kport »

Even against that backdrop, there is no question that the inclusion of a brief scene of full-frontal nudity at a family theater in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’’ was a jolting development for many — including at least two board members at Boston Children’s Theatre who were irate they had not been consulted beforehand by executive artistic director Burgess Clark. He lost his job, at least temporarily, because of the nude scene. (The theater did not allow anyone under 14 to see the show who was not accompanied by a parent or guardian, and issued copious warnings beforehand about the nudity. Clark acknowledged that some in the audience ranged from 10 to 12.)

In response to the “Cuckoo’s Nest’’ story, a reader wrote in the Globe’s online comments section: “This insistence on making every single thing ‘adult’ is killing theater. People like theater and become lifelong theatergoers if they are exposed to theater at a young age. If I was taking my children to a [Boston Children’s Theatre] production, I would be very angry if it included a nude scene. Parents should be able to have a few family friendly place(s) to see plays — besides musicals.’’

But even musicals can be tricky nowadays: Linda Chin, the producing artistic director of Boston’s Wheelock Family Theatre, acknowledged Monday that the theater received complaints about the multiple onstage utterances of the F-word in its recent production of “Billy Elliot,’’ which Wheelock recommended for audiences 8 and above. Audiences were warned about the show’s language and gritty themes during pre-show speeches.

Still, Chin said she would not allow a performance with a nude scene in her theater. “What we try to present is the opportunity for people to use their imagination, and we wouldn’t do something as controversial as put nudity onstage,’’ she said. “It’s too shocking. We have to make very strong judgments about creating environments for safety
.’’
Not quite accurate - I never heard the F-word dropped at Wheelock. Plenty of other words, but......

What I did sense at Wheelock (a theatre whose purpose is to provide shows for young people), unlike at any other performance of BETM, was the violence of the show, which Wheelock amped up exponentially. And when the audience was full of very young children (I am referring to 5-9 year olds), the violence seemed more palpable - and even for me, uncomfortable (as it should be) - than with an audience of primarily adults.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theate ... story.html
cheltonian
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Re: Family entertainment isn’t kids’ stuff anymore

Post by cheltonian »

kport wrote: Not quite accurate - I never heard the F-word dropped at Wheelock. Plenty of other words, but......
That surprises me, when Billy finds Michael wearing address he normally reacts with a drawn out "effing hell". I think Tony also says "Its not effing Camberwick Green" (although the reference to a named childrens TV show would probably need to be changed to something more recognisable in different countries).
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ERinVA
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Re: Family entertainment isn’t kids’ stuff anymore

Post by ERinVA »

There have been various modifications to avoid the F-word not only in many US regional productions but also on the US tour. In the case of Billy's reaction to discovering Michael in a dress, the word has typically been changed to "bloody. " "Bloody" has also been used as a substitute in " Solidarity." Billy's reply to Michael in the opening sequence of the show has been dealt with in different ways, none of which work as well as the reaction at the opening of "Expressing Yourself," in my opinion.
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kport
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Re: Family entertainment isn’t kids’ stuff anymore

Post by kport »

ERinVA wrote:There have been various modifications to avoid the F-word not only in many US regional productions but also on the US tour. In the case of Billy's reaction to discovering Michael in a dress, the word has typically been changed to "bloody. " "Bloody" has also been used as a substitute in " Solidarity." Billy's reply to Michael in the opening sequence of the show has been dealt with in different ways, none of which work as well as the reaction at the opening of "Expressing Yourself," in my opinion.
I believe 'bloody' is one of the substitutions suggested by Lee Hall. It is entirely plausible. For some reason, 'shite' seems to be quite amusing to American audiences, who probably view is as innocuously as they do 'frigging' or 'freaking', which is an obvious substitute for the F adjective. One of the Wheelock cast said that he was amused whenever the little kids would giggle at a 'swear'.
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CJ-Rochester
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Re: Family entertainment isn’t kids’ stuff anymore

Post by CJ-Rochester »

The first time I saw Cuckoo’s Nest was in college. The scene in question was done with the actor in his underwear. The point was made just fine. It wasn't until years later I learned the scene was written to be full frontal.

Regardless, I question why an artistic director would chose “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’’ for a children's or family theater. It's a powerful play, but not really geared to that age group.
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Re: Family entertainment isn’t kids’ stuff anymore

Post by angelenroute »

ERinVA wrote:There have been various modifications to avoid the F-word not only in many US regional productions but also on the US tour. In the case of Billy's reaction to discovering Michael in a dress, the word has typically been changed to "bloody. " "Bloody" has also been used as a substitute in " Solidarity." Billy's reply to Michael in the opening sequence of the show has been dealt with in different ways, none of which work as well as the reaction at the opening of "Expressing Yourself," in my opinion.
I agree! In general, cursing is always funnier when it's random and rare. When it's all the time, it's a bit too much for me. I always felt Billy Elliot in its original forms, both cinematic and theatrical, prior to tours, found a great balance.

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cheltonian
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Re: Family entertainment isn’t kids’ stuff anymore

Post by cheltonian »

I'm interested to know how the following stanza is softened:-
You think yer smart ya cockney shite
You wanna be suspicious
When you were on the picket line
We went and f****d yer missus
All of us at once
The language is an essential part of the gritty realism of the show.
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Re: Family entertainment isn’t kids’ stuff anymore

Post by kport »

cheltonian wrote:
ERinVA wrote:There have been various modifications to avoid the F-word not only in many US regional productions but also on the US tour. In the case of Billy's reaction to discovering Michael in a dress, the word has typically been changed to "bloody. " "Bloody" has also been used as a substitute in " Solidarity." Billy's reply to Michael in the opening sequence of the show has been dealt with in different ways, none of which work as well as the reaction at the opening of "Expressing Yourself," in my opinion.
American sensibilities are strange from a distance. America is happy, as a nation, to execute people, which to me is barbaric, but can't say an open word like 'toilet' (a room where you go to relieve yourself) having to change it to 'bathroom' (a room where you go to wash) and certainly can never say someone died, they only "passed".

Anyway, more on topic, I'm interested to know how the following stanza is softened:-
You think yer smart ya cockney shite
You wanna be suspicious
When you were on the picket line
We went and f****d yer missus
All of us at once
The language is an essential part of the gritty realism of the show.
At Wheelock, the lyrics were open captioned, so I was able to study this with a degree of accuracy. The substitutions were clever, I think: for 'We went and f****d your missus', they sang 'We went and tupped your missus' which, without turning to an etymological dictionary, is I believe an old English word that means exactly the same thing as f****d and, I am surmising, would have held the same vulgar force. I would not be surprised to hear that is is still in common use in parts of England. ('Tupped' is a variant of 'topped', a term horse breeders would understand).

Members of this Boston cast spent some considerable time studying the times, conditions and locations of the 1984 strike. Their attention to detail was extraordinary to someone who may have seen the shows
a few times before :).
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