Too Hot to Handle

1.
Who: Martian Entertainment
Where: New World Stages- Stage 5 (formerly Dodger Stages - Stage 5) 50th Street, between 8th and 9th Ave
When: Current
What: Naked Boys Singing!

Cast of Naked Boys Singing!
http://www.nakedboyssinging.com/gallery_newyork/gallery.html

This is raises eyebrows because all of the cast member become completely nude. With nudity being a problem for some, this could be a difficult thing to view. The show does give warning but the people who see it may still not have the full grasp of the nudity involved.

2.
What: Ascension
Where: Lion Theater
When: From October 6 2006 to October 21, 2006; opening October 11th -- extended to November 12th—and again to November 26th— ended up closing November 19th closing.
Who: Playwright: Edmund De SantisDirector: Marc Geller
Cast: Stephen Hope (Father Calvin Porter), Lucy McMichael (Agnes Sabatino), Brandon Ruckdashel (Lorenzo SabatinoSets: Aaron Mastin )

Brandon Ruckdashel in Ascension

http://www.afterelton.com/theatre/2008/10/nudebroadway?page=0%2C1

This was too hot to handle because there is this young gorgeous actor who does a full frontal. Although there will be plenty of people who could appreciate this there will also be those who do not. Not everyone is comfortable with nudity and she a grown man fully nude may cause problems for them.


3.
What: Jeffery
Who: Directed by Paul Rudnick
Cast: Tim Irving, Adam Edwards, Wes Culwell, Keith Wright, Angelo Wilimek, Laura Bozanych, Shawn Ingram, Manuel J. Fernandes and Andy Collins
When: December 8 through January 19, 2002. Thursday, Friday and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. Sundays at 7:00 p.m. Matinees on Sundays December 30, January 6 and January 13at 2:00 pm.
Where: The Diversionary Theatre

“Jeffrey has made a decision: no sex is the safest sex.”
http://www.sandiegoplaybill.com/news/news_div_120301.html

This play deals with two very sensitive issues, homosexuality and aids. Jeffery has found himself in love with another man and that man is HIV- positive. I feel that there would be a lot of people who would have issues with this show. A lot of people are not comfortable with either topic.

4.
What: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Who: Directed by Bartlett Sher
By: August Wilson
Cast: Marsha Stephanie Blake , Chad L. Coleman , Michael Cummings , Aunjanue Ellis , Danai Gurira , Andre Holland , Arliss Howard , Ernie Hudson , LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Amari Rose Leigh , Roger Robinson
When: March 19, 2009- June 14, 2009
Where: Lincoln Center Theater

Bartlett Sher is directing August Wilson’s “Joe Turner.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/theater/23wils.html?_r=1

This show would be considered too hot to handle because it deals with race. Race is and will always be a difficult topic for people. This show had racial issues before it was even seen. The director is white and the writer was black, the writer did not want any white directors for his work. The writer died and now theres a white director… sparked a bit of trouble.


5.
What: The living Theatre
Who: Julian Beck
Where and When: The Cherry Lane Theater (closed by the Fire Department in 1953), The Living Theatre Studio on Broadway at 100th Street (closed by the Buildings Department in 1956), The Living Theatre on 14th Street (closed by the I.R.S. in 1963) and The Living Theatre on Third Street (closed by the Buildings Department in 1993).

Frankenstein at the The Living Theatre
http://www.livingtheatre.org/history.html

This is too hot to handle because it puts the performers at risk. The establishment was ill- equipped and being that the basis of the shows were having the actors use a lot of body movements with the sets it would make the sets dangerous.


6.
Who: Karen Finley, Tim Miller, John Fleck, and Holly Hughes
What: NEA 4
When: June 1990
Where:

“Labeled by Right-wing politicians as too dirty to be funded, the NEA four spearheaded a national campaign against artistic repression and won their Supreme Court case against the National Endowment for the Arts.”
http://www.johnfleck.net/bio.htm


Even though the NEA 4 participated in shows that were considered to be obscene, if the NEA were to take away grants it would be controversial because its taking away money to produce a form of art. The art may not be what all the people want to see but some will and by taking away the money takes away from the grow of that art.


7.
What: Corpus Christi
Who: Manhattan Theater Club
Where: Manhattan
When: May 23, 1998

“The cancellation was hailed yesterday by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, which says it is the nation's biggest Catholic civil rights group and had started a letter-writing campaign against the play.” http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/23/theater/new-mcnally-play-canceled-after-protests-and-threats.html?pagewanted=1
This production was too hot to handle because of the subject matter. The show was to have a Jesus- like role and the actor in that role would be shown to have sex with the Twelve Apostles. This caused an up roar with religious groups for obvious reasons.


8.
What: Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches
Who: Kilgore College
When: Oct. 14-17, 1999
Where: Texas Shakespeare Festival

"The sad part of this is that it is pretty obvious that they voted [to rescind the funding] because of the play,"
http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=10226

The officials asked Kilgore College not to do this controversial play, but they did it any ways. Then the school lost its funding, the funding was a grant that would have matched 50,000 dollars of the funds raised at the festival. This is too hot to handle because it is obvious that they took the grant away because they weren’t happy with the play that was being shown and that’s not right.


9.
What: The Laramie Project and Rent
Who: High School students
Where: Green Valley High School, Nevada
When: The Laramie Project, November 12-14, 2009 and Rent ?

“The parents' group objects to students playing gay characters and contends that the productions violate the school’s policy against “R-rated” material.”
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/10/27/Rent,_Laramie_Project_Spark_Controversy_in_Nevada_High_School/

This is controversial because the topics may be too much for high school students in the eyes of some. The parents have filed a lawsuit to shut down both productions because they feel the material is too “R” rated. The material is of mature topics and may not be suitable for this young of viewers.


10.
What: The Children's Hour
Who: Director Lesley Ferris
When: May 3rd- 19th 2009
Where: Ohio State



Girls from the school that is having the scandal
http://www.thelantern.com/2.1347/theatre-production-plays-controversial-role-1.78431

This show was considered controversial because it is a scandal about two women who have an affair but really don’t. The reason this is controversial because by the time the two women who worked together could prove nothing had happened there reputation was already changed. With hate crimes that occur with same sex relationships this could have been dangerous.