On the heels of a successful debut at the Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles and an impressive eight-year run on the New York stage, the raucous musical showered with accolades by both LA Weekly and Backstage West -- and featuring show-stopping tunes by Bruce Vilanch, Shelley Markham, Stephen Bates, Robert Schrock, and Mark Winkler -- can finally be enjoyed by theater fans who may not have had the opportunity to catch it in person. Everyone knows that nudity is only natural, and as an impressive
cast of actors, singers, and dancers including Kevin Stea, Jason Currie, Phong Truong, Joseph Keane, Andrew Blake, Anthony Manough, and original cast member Vincent Zamora drop their drawers to perform such sings as "Fight the Urge," "Nothin' But the Radio On," and "Robert Mitchum," home viewers can finally find out firsthand what all the fuss and fun is about. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
The songs generally are quite fun, with the contributing stamp of famed comedy writer Bruce Vilanch quite evident. And the strong-voiced performers deliver them in engaging fashion.
In Naked Boys Singing! 10 grown men (including one natural redhead) go full monty while belting out show tunes and high-kicking like muscular Rockettes.
A full-frontal celebration of the male form featuring 16 show tunes with suggestive titles such as 'Gratuitous Nudity,' 'The Naked Maid,' Nothin' But the Radio On,' 'The Bliss of Bris' and 'Perky Little Porn Star.'
It's an unexpectedly boisterous, giddy show kicking down the taboo of the male body with a collection of toe-tappin' songs and enough full frontal to power 300 consecutive bachelorette parties.
Handled matter-of-factly, the ubiquitous nudity becomes the norm ... and the music takes the spotlight ... it's here where the show becomes a matter of taste.
Alternately silly and shocking, yet ultimately moving, this raunchy musical revue cleverly reveals the vulnerability of ubiquitous nudity as a window to the human soul.
If there every was a time when I said "There's 90 minutes of my life I'll never get back" it was after watching Naked Boys Singing. The description here says that it was nominated for Best Musical by a couple of places I had never heard of, but it is quite obvious where the reviewers' minds were. They certainly were
not paying attention to the music (it was ok), dancing (white boys can't dance) and singing (dreadful!)
It should be re-named Narcissism On Stage. The only reason these men were cast is their own need to show it all. Having been in vocal music since junior high, I know very well what NOT to do, and these guys did it all.
Nearly all the songs dealt with nudity and what gay men like to do when they are naked (the list is quite limited).
One song, "Muscle Audition", was an painfully poor stab at recreating The Village People's "YMCA" and "Macho Man".
Other songs were full of double entendres, specifically to put the viewers' minds in the gutter. "Beat My Meat"? The butcher blocks, with mallets and stage prop steaks at the very end of the song were unbearable.
One number over used the term "dick-tionary" and a good portion of it was a round of all the different synonyms for the word 'penis'.
Very junior high level humor and not very funny. Bad singing.
Paying money to see "Naked Boys Singing" on stage is a way for people who want to watch a strip show, but want to justify it by saying "It's art!"
July 21, 2008
Alexander Morgan
Very entertaining even if it didn't have the nakedness! Worth renting and I don't know if it is worth buying yet.
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