Jerry Springer: the Opera [Import, Soundtrack]

Richard Thomas (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 6, 2004)
• Original Release Date: 2004
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import, Soundtrack
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000TSRII
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,196 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Overtly-Ture Full Company

2. Audience Very Plainsong

3. Ladies & Gentlemen

4. Have Yourselves A Good Time

5. Bigger Than Oprah Winfrey

6. Foursome Guests

7. I've Been Seeing Someone Else

8. Chick With A Dick

9. Talk To The Hand

10. Adverts 1

11. Intro To Diaper Man

12. Diaper Man

13. Montel Cums Dirty

14. This Is My Jerry Springer Moment

15. Mama Gimmee Smack On The A**Hole

16. I Wanna Sing Something Beautiful

17. Adverts 2

18. First Time I Saw Jerry

19. Backstage Scene

20. Poledancer

See all 47 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

The Jerry Springer phenomenon hits the West End as the biggest smash hit musical for years transfers from the National Theatre in an explosive, filthy, funny and brilliantly original show that has had critics and punters alike falling over themselves to praise this ultimate pairing of high and low art. This double album was recorded live during the show's sell-out run at the National, capturing every outrageous minute of the show they have called ''the biggest thrill for decades''. Sony. 2003.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly ground-breaking musical score, March 9, 2005

By 

Steven Valenti "svclue" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jerry Springer: the Opera (Audio CD)

It's not often that a musical comes around with a score that's as fresh and exciting as the one for "Jerry Springer: the Opera." Composer Richard Thomas and Lyricist Stewart Lee have written an ingenious piece of musical theater that absolutely commands your attention with its daring. The music is fantastic, combining operatic and musical theater sensibilities into something that feels at once classical and totally contemporary. The lyrics are hilariously profane and over-the-top (how could they not be?), and push the boundaries of good taste. For a genre not really known for being edgy, this is a most welcome change of pace ("Urinetown" and "Avenue Q," good as they are, don't even come close to the audacity on display here). There's definitely a share of juvenile humor, but there's certainly nothing juvenile about the creators' achievement. In their depiction of a typical "Jerry" show, followed by the host's entanglement in a struggle between heaven and hell, they've created a twisty combination of parody and satire that is brilliantly executed. This is truly a ground-breaking piece of musical theater, and it's well-preserved in this 2 disc set by an excellent cast.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most offensive show ever written., December 15, 2005

By 

Musical Lover (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jerry Springer: the Opera (Audio CD)

If you're the type whose conscience bruises easily, click the back button on your browser immediately and don't turn back, lest ye be turned into a pillar of salt.

Jerry Springer: the Opera is not for the faint of heart. The playful, un-PC cheekiness only hinted at in shows like Avenue Q and The Producers is on full, raunchy display here.

The first act plays like a musicalized and uncensored version of a typical episode of the television show, where adulterers and fetishists are given an international forum to come unhinged, while the guests with the least fault to bear are stripped of their humanity and mocked.

But it's the second and third acts that are raising eyebrows the world over. In them, Jerry Springer goes to Hell after getting shot (in one of the most deliriously outrageous act one finales ever staged). There, he is forced to host a version of his show in the afterlife, featuring Satan, Adam, Eve, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and God Himself as his guests.

Anyone with half an imagination to devote to that scenario can only imagine that Biblical characters + Jerry Springer Show = a delicious recipe for controversy (or, as one church in England put it, "high blasphemy").

It should be said that this show has also been condemned as anti-American. This is preposterous; with the exception of some brief but highly satirical "commercial breaks" (that poke fun at Americans' love of Viagra, Jesus, guns and more), this musical is about as anti-American as the Jerry Springer show itself.

Musically, the score is incredibly rich. It is written in a traditionally presentational operatic style (the only character who doesn't sing all of his dialogue throughout the show is our host, Jerry Springer), but is thoroughly infused with rock, jazz and theatrical tonalities. Indeed, some of the ballads here could, if stripped of their ridiculous contexts, easily be inserted into any serious book musical. The singers are all incredible. They range from classically trained voices, to musical theatre veterans, to rock/pop-type singers -- a mixture as eclectic as the guest list of a typical Jerry Springer show.

But, above and beyond any hype, what is so incredibly groundbreaking about this opera is the way the music and especially the lyrics effortlessly transition from mildly offensive pastiche, into wildly offensive light opera, and then into incredibly moving high opera. The third act finale of this show packs a genuine emotional wallop the likes of which I haven't experienced in a theatre since the first time I saw Les Miserables.

It feels weird to type that about something called "Jerry Springer: the Opera" -- but there you have it.

It would be nice to see this opera get a highly polished studio recording someday, but in the meantime, you don't need to feel as if you're "settling" by purchasing this CD, because even though this recording is live, the quality is very high.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST SHOW ON EARTH!!!, October 24, 2004

By 

Mr. P. M. Turner "paulturnip2000" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jerry Springer: the Opera (Audio CD)

If anyone tells you that this is not the greatest thing you will ever see (or hear if you get the soundtrack) don't listen to them. It may be rude and in some places shocking, however that is the style of this true kombat opera.

The show is extremely funny and the soundtrack (unlike some sountracks) contains the whole show, mainly due to the fact the intire show is sung.

Although some people may not like the show because its too different from other shows i dissagree and say that its about time we saw something new. I live in the UK and have seen the show 4 times... I never get tired of it and cant express how lucky the US is to be getting it on Broadway in 2005. The cast are extremely talented beyond anything i have ever seen (and believe me, i've seen alot). I can highly recomend this show, or seccond best its soundtrack...