Diversity Rules Magazine

Diversity Rules Magazine Naked Boys Singing Revival Based on a Press Release by Project Publicity Naked Boys Singing!, the outrageous musical comedy that ran off Broadway for eleven years before closing five weeks ago, is back – bigger and better than ever! The hilari- ous revue, featuring fifteen original songs, six gorgeous new boys and no clothes has been completely revamped for 2012 with fresh jokes, electrifying choreography, and bold additions referenc- ing the LGBT community's ongoing battle for marriage equality. The off-Broadway revival of Naked Boys Singing! began previews March 15th at the Kirk Theatre on Theatre Row in New York City. vues Icons and A Broadway Diva Christmas. "We wanted a production that was relevant to this decade. Anything that screamed nineties has been altered or cut. We reinvented the staging and dancing and focused more on the comedy." The first full-frontal show of Naked Boys Sing- ing! — created by Robert Schrock and featur- ing show-stopping tunes by Shelley Markham, Stephen Bates, Mark Winkler and the Emmy- Award winning Bruce Vilanch — premiered at Los Angeles' Celebration Theater in 1998. Since then, the revue has dropped its drawers for eager audiences around the world includ- ing Australia, Spain and the United Kingdom. From its sassy opening number "Gratu tous Nudity" to the screamingly funny "Bliss of a Bris," audiences and critics have hailed the seventy- minute show a crowd-pleaser. How- ever, as one of the longest running shows in Off-Broadway history, Naked Boys Singing! has experienced its share of controversy. "It was time to give Naked Boys Singing a facelift with an updated attitude to reflect the times," said the show's producer and director Tom D'Angora, a two-time Dra- ma Desk nominee and Off Broadway Alliance Award winner for NEWSical. He is the founder of D'Angora Entertainment, the produc- tion team behind recent off Broadway smash musical re- Productions in Atlanta, San Juan and Milwau- kee were raided by police and temporarily shut down under allegations of indecency and public nu- dity. In Provincetown, city officials issued nightly cease-and- desist orders to the show's producers. Naked Boys Singing! was removed from the RNC's list of discount ticket offers to visiting delegates, effectively censoring the show from its members. In each case, local courts found in favor of Naked Boys Singing!. The court's ruling in Provincetown even inspired change in their lo- cal laws. "The biggest misperception about the show is that it is dirty or like porn," says Tom D' An- gora. "The show is hilarious! While porn goes for the libido, Naked Boys Singing! goes for the heart." Broadway production of West Side Story and the first national touring company of A Chorus Line. Alex Ringler, one of the Naked Boys in the new off Broadway production and the show's choreog- rapher, agrees. "People come expecting a lap dance like we're a Chip- pendale's show. Instead, we serve them musical comedy. Naked." Be- fore joining the cast, Ringler appeared in the "When casting, talent comes first," confirms D'Angora. "These boys need to sing, dance and act their tushies off. Though naked is in the title, it is just the icing on the cake for audi- ences. The singing is what the show is really about." Tom D'Angora's co- Director in the new pro- duction of Naked Boys Singing! is his husband, Michael D'Angora, who has directed the Prov- incetown production since 2007. Scott Dela- cruz is the show's Production Stage Manager. Twenty-One Even in New York, when the city hosted the Repub- lican National Convention,

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