Customer Reviews

Jerry Springer: the Opera

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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...

I came across this CD when a friend let me borrow it for a weekend to give a try. My first reaction was "Dear Lord, what in God's creation is this?"

However, after listening a second, a third, and fourth time I realized what it was: an amazing work of music. The music is rich, complex, and at times shocking, as the harmonies and ranges are astonishing. I was completely blown away from what I was hearing. The show had a style like something I had never heard.

Now, I must say, a live recording is never the same as a studio recording and as a result some of the words are lost and impossible to decipher.
The languge is over the top and the show is quite possibly the most offensive thing ever written, but that's part of the style to the show. I'm sure seeing the Olivier Award Winning (It beat the Lion King people) would make a huge difference.

This is not a cd for everyone, only the musical theatre fanatics will appreciate something of this magnitude. To those of you who own more musical CDs than shirts, this is your kind of show

This opera is not only witty, entertaining, and wildly irreverant...it is HILARIOUS! I only wish I could see it again in person! This opera was the highlight of my London trip and I just ordered the CD to relive it all again. I highly recommend this to anyone who has a sense of humor!

Jerry Springer - The Opera, is by far the greatest and most hilarious thing I've ever seen! I went to the show live in London, and I was just blown away. Whether or not you are fans of the Jerry Springer show on television, you will absolutely adore the opera. Don't judge it till you've seen it! The music is fantastic and very well done - not just because the lyrics are funny, but also the the singers are trained professionals and excellent at what they do. I'm not a big opera person myself, but this is astounding and definitely worth the money. Buy the cd, go see the show, and then pray along with everyone else that it will come out on DVD someday!

I saw this in London, it was absolutely amazing! It exceeded all my expectations. Where else can one see a troupe of tap-dancing KKK members? I just ordered a copy of the soundtrack. I recommend anyone go see it in person. Don't bother going to the Leicester Square discount ticket offices if you are under 25, though, if you are under 25 you can get tickets to £50 seats for £25.

Passion. Betrayal. Lust. Anger. Vengeance. Grand emotions, often enlisted to give classic opera its grandeur.

But what if these emotions lie in the heart not of a jilted Rhinemaiden nor a jealous valkyrie, but a trailer-dwelling beautician from Dubuque? Can we sing about them in the same way? That's the conceit behind this extraordinary piece of theatre...that even the lowliest amongst us live lives of high drama in our own heads.

That's act one. Act two turns the tables. What if the players in the grandest, most noble story of them all--the passion of the Christ--were to be reunited in a Jerry Springer-style face-off? With all the attendant petty bickering, squabbling and mean spiritedness?

I saw the show in London, and it truly blew me away. The line between the sacred and the profane, the noble and the venal, the tragic and the silly: these lines aren't just crossed, they're twisted, mangled and torched.

You'll find yourself laughing at the sheer absurdity of swear words sung to high opera. But there's something deeper going on here...the grand music and base sentiments made me question how vain we human beings can be if we think our grubby little lives are important enough to be considered the stuff of tragedy.

Some of my fellow reviewers decry the prolific swearing. But it's the most artful obscenity I've heard in a long time. OK, it would be juvenile for an actor on stage to call another character a c**t. But it's another thing entirely if the character is Satan himself, and a twenty-strong choir of angels, sings in perfect harmony and arpeggio, "he's a c**t, a c**t, a c**ty, c**ty, c**ty, c**ty, c**ty, c**ty, c**ty, c**ty, c**********************t!" Blurs the line between the sacred and profane, indeed.

(Sorry, Amazon, there's no way to discuss this record without some allusion to the lyrics!)

Some reviewers have noted that this recording features a live performance, with an audience likely chosen for its enthusiastic response. The fidelity is not so bad, considering. After all, operatic voices at full volume are pretty easy for a mike to pick up.

Buy this CD, and when the show hits Broadway, brave the inevitable mobs of fundie protesters to buy a ticket. It's worth it.

Since I'm currently living in Australia, I have been blessed to see the BBC live broadcast of Jerry Springer, the Opera, on television. I was stunned and enthralled, taped the repeat performance the next day, and have watched it many times since. The staging is no less brilliant than the singing and acting. The casting is more than perfect, it's inspired. I can't see how any other production could ever match it. I raved to everyone I know and invited them over for a viewing. Most said they were sure they would hate it, but once they saw it, they entirely changed their minds. How could they not? This is one of the greatest theatrical experiences of all time - a work of original genius on the grand scale. Question: since this marvelous video production exists,why isn't available in the US? I want so much to give it as a gift to my hosts on my upcoming trip to America, but the US and OZ use different video systems. I looked into Amazon and found only the CD. Why doesn't Amazon acquire distribution rights for the video?

I saw the show in London and I must say it was the funniest thing ever!!! Though the material in the cd is not for children or for people that do not find crude humor funny. If they ever release the show on DVD I will buy it!!