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jokes." He noted that the enjoyment and lack of embarrassment of the cast helped the audience to accept the more insubstantial elements of the revue's material and that the stage sets' screen projections assisted the dance numbers considerably, concluding: "In many ways, it is a ghastly show: ill-written, juvenile, and attention-seeking. But it is not a menace."
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but none based on ideas that strike me as more sympathetic. Namely that the ordinary human body is an object well worth attention: and that there is no reason why the public treatment of sex should not be extended to take in not only lyricism and personal emotion but also the rich harvest of bawdy
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Players come out to sing the finale, also doing voiceover as to what the theater patrons are really thinking about the experience. Examples include: "She has pretty eyes" (the joke being that all of the actors are nude at this point), "How come none of the guys have
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A song of five letters written by anonymous authors about their sexual preferences. They were actual letters to the editor from various newspapers from olden times in London and, later in the Suite, contemporary letters from sexual newspapers of the day.
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in select cities in 1971, and was released theatrically in 1972. In both cases, many cities and municipalities banned its screening. Frank Herold, an editor who worked on the film, commented on that in a brief post he contributed to the relevant
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A boy and a girl who just met are in their own playland, with the boy constantly trying to find ways to seduce the girl, who is afraid of him because he is a boy. The sketch ends with the girl in a coma after the boy rapes her.
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Note: the revue takes place in the form of sketches. These are taken from the 1971 pay-per-view production with lyrics and music by Robert Dennis, Peter
Schickele and Stanley Walden (unless otherwise noted).
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on
September 24, 1976, and closed on August 6, 1989 after 5,959 performances, again directed and choreographed by Levy and Sappington. The revival briefly became the longest-running show in
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sent its panel of experts, including two retired headmistresses, to see The
Roundhouse production. Their judgement that it was not obscene enabled it to transfer to London's West End.
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The
Spanish-language premiere production opened on October 9, 1977 at Teatro PrĂncipe in Madrid, Spain, directed by Juan JosĂ© Alonso Millán, who also translated the show.
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to make a series of paintings of erogenous zones on which the revue would be based. Boty died of cancer in July 1966 so only managed to complete one painting, her last:
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A pre-recorded section, where the actors are nude outside doing interpretive dance ("Much Too Soon", music and lyrics by
Jacques Levy, Dennis, Schickele and Walden).
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The show sparked considerable controversy at the time due to its extended scenes of total nudity, both male and female. The title is taken from a painting by
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231:, was used as a Prologue in the original New York staging, but Beckett eventually withdrew permission for its use. Tynan commissioned British Pop artist
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revival that ran for 5,959 performances, making the show the longest-running revue in
Broadway history, the second longest-running revival (after
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in 1970. It ran in London for over 3,900 performances, and in New York initially for 1,314. Revivals enjoyed even longer runs, including a 1976
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would direct the production, in order to give it avant-garde legitimacy, but Pinter declined. Sketches were written by, among others,
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A chaste woman is caught by her admirer, who then proceeds to learn that she is not as chaste as he thinks she is. It was written by
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on
January 28, 1974, where it ran until February 1980, for a total of 3,918 performances. The London show was produced by
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A man participates in a sex study and the whole experience ends up turning into one big farce. The scene plays like the
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on
February 17, 1971, and closed on August 12, 1972, after a total of 1,314 performances. It was directed by
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Tynan came up with the idea of putting on an erotic revue in the early summer of 1966. Tynan had hoped that
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is likely to disappoint different people in different ways, but disappointment is the order of the night."
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After a man rambles on about painting the fence and building a rock garden, his son talks about what girls
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Wardle, Irving (28 July 1970). "Sometimes funny – not a menace".
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after meeting the middle-aged couple who answers their ad.
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859:"Theater: 'Oh, Calcutta!' a Most Innocent Dirty Show"
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The musical premiered in London on July 27, 1970, at
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16:Avant-garde, risque theatrical revue (1969)
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834:"Lennon Lore & Legacy: Oh! Calcutta!"
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721:The Diaries of Kenneth Tynan
708:Oh Calcutta West End listing
448:at a sex research facility.
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1337:Counterculture of the 1960s
1327:Nudity in theatre and dance
1140:Curse of the Starving Class
934:Oh, Calcutta!
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615:Oh! Calcutta! Calcutta!
577:The 1970 production at
399:A Suite of Five Letters
346:Internet Movie Database
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160:eighth longest-running
645:Kenneth Tynan Letters
612:Trouille's 1946 work
573:Obscenity allegations
428:Delicious Indignities
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259:and choreographed by
217:), Robert Dennis and
1322:Plays by Sam Shepard
1118:Kicking a Dead Horse
696:Oh!Calcutta! listing
308:A revival opened on
162:Broadway show ever.
132:, risqué theatrical
1232:Don't Come Knocking
593:for obscenity. The
583:Metropolitan Police
382:Taking Off the Robe
1055:The Tooth of Crime
864:The New York Times
676:The New York Times
537:The New York Times
422:swingers lifestyle
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1317:Broadway musicals
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1204:Renaldo and Clara
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1005:Filmography
994:Sam Shepard
903:19 November
818:John Lennon
775:3 September
748:3 September
544:'s ballet '
500:John Lennon
478:Rock Garden
273:Leon Russom
243:Productions
191:Sam Shepard
187:John Lennon
158:), and the
130:avant-garde
95:Productions
1302:1969 plays
1291:Categories
1083:Angel City
1034:La Turista
601:References
517:Washington
470:One on One
173:Background
1218:Far North
1154:True West
1104:Simpatico
879:The Times
561:The Times
265:Bill Macy
223:composers
1242:See also
843:1 August
808:imdb.com
632:buttocks
513:hard-ons
367:Prologue
352:Synopsis
318:Broadway
310:Broadway
284:West End
215:PDQ Bach
150:Broadway
146:West End
110:Broadway
105:West End
1182:Scripts
1097:Tongues
958:listing
938:at the
926:at the
820:at the
546:Astarte
312:at the
155:Chicago
112:revival
1307:Revues
1276:Coyote
1069:Action
1010:Awards
620:French
506:Finale
486:like.
484:really
375:Breath
348:page.
228:Breath
128:is an
116:Madrid
73:Lyrics
1019:Plays
521:Agnew
452:Act 2
362:Act 1
134:revue
114:1977
108:1976
103:1970
98:1969
57:Music
952:IMDb
905:2015
845:2017
777:2016
750:2016
683:2019
373:'s "
267:and
86:Book
950:at
624:pun
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237:BUM
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