'Jerry Springer' to Have American Premiere in Chicago

Jerry Springer: The Opera will finally be making its American debut.  However, the controversial hit won't be produced on Broadway but in Chicago, the city that "The Jerry Springer Show" calls home.

The musical will be presented at the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre in May, according to Variety.  Bailiwick artistic director David Zak said: "With Jerry here in town, Chicago is the natural place to introduce the musical to American audiences."  It will begin previews on May 3rd, open on May 14th and run through July 8th (although Zak hopes for an extension).

A cast of 25 and orchestra of 6 is planned for the 150-seat mainstage theatre.

A Broadway transfer of Jerry Springer: The Opera was expected to take place, but never materialized.  The raunchy musical, with its operatic overtones, satirizes a number of "Jerry Springer Show" characters, such as a stripper "who just wants to dance," and Ku Klux Klan members.

Stewart Lee co-wrote the show with composer Richard Thomas. Jerry Springer: The Opera, which began at the Edinburgh Festival and opened at London's National Theatre on April 29th, 2003 (it moved to the Cambridge Theatre soon after). The show won the Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Awards in addition to its Olivier for Best Musical.  Despite the accolades, its airing on BBC 2 last year sparked the storm of protests, with almost 50,000 complaints pouring in.  The show, which closed after 609 performances, also toured the UK this year.

"In the first act of Jerry Springer: The Opera, a parade of foul-mouthed, chair-hurling contestants come on the talk show to lay bare their souls (as well as parts of their bodies). The second act takes a religious turn as Jerry Springer visits purgatory and hell, and is expelled from heaven," stated earlier press materials.

 

 

 

Visit www.bailiwick.org for more on the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre.