Saw a production of Tom Eyen's Women Behind Bars directed by Ron Link in San Fran in the early eighties. Starred Lu Leonard as "The Matron". A rioutously over the top campy production parodying those women-in-prison movies. Hysterically funny. The original production off-Broadway starred Divine. I wonder if it would be a hit today? Would love to see it made into a musical. Updated On: 3/17/07 at 04:04 PM
I saw it in L.A. in the early 80s..started at a small theatre here then moved to, of all places, The Roxy on the Sunset Strip.
Ran for quite awhile..in addition to Lu Leonard [R.I.P] it also featured Brandis Kemp as Louise, Adrienne Barbeau as Gloria, Deborah Harmon as Blanche and Jennifer Holmes as Mary.
It ran for awhile..after Barbeau left Sally Kellerman played Gloria, and other cast changes included Susan Barnes as Louise and Linda Blair as Mary.
[yes..I saw it quite a few times....]
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It was done in london in the mid 90s in a very cheap production in a small theatre in the basement of a bar. It had fantastic reviews and extended its run. On the same theme of women behind bars, a major new musical called 'Bad Girls' opens in Londons West End in August. This show is based on a very successful TV show. Theres obviously a market for shows with 'women beind bars' out there. In the late 90s there was yet another musical called 'Prisoner Cell Block H' that had a successful limited season in the West End at the Queens Theatre. PS in the London WBB all the inmates were played by drag queens! Updated On: 7/6/07 at 09:57 PM
And there's the delightfully campy movie "Reform School Girls" starring Pat Ast and Wendy O. Williams.
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oh, my... this question does take me back... it was may of 1975, what a wonderful birthday... i remember those nights sleeping on the murphy bed on the stage at the truck at warehouse theatre with t... um... never mind
One of my very first pieces of professional design, for a small company in Vancouver. What a wonderful script -- but then Tom Eyen is really a neglected genius, IMHO. His Why Gilda is so Grey is a demented piece of writing -- as is the rest of the "Sisters" trilogy.
But, a musical? Sorry, no. The original is a great satire of a standing film format, and to musicalize it would just add a slather of gild to an already lovely lily.
Now this is weird...today I was sorting through a pile of papers and out onto the floor dropped the script for WOMEN BEHIND BARS. I had completely forgotten I had it, and now here you all are talking about it. Spooky.
No lol, it's best left as it is. There was an Australian production in Sydney in the early 90's, but it was a flop. It opened in a 700+ seat theatre, probably an unwise decision.
"I saw it in L.A. in the early 80s..started at a small theatre here then moved to, of all places, The Roxy on the Sunset Strip.
Ran for quite awhile..in addition to Lu Leonard [R.I.P] it also featured Brandis Kemp as Louise, Adrienne Barbeau as Gloria, Deborah Harmon as Blanche and Jennifer Holmes as Mary.
It ran for awhile..after Barbeau left Sally Kellerman played Gloria, and other cast changes included Susan Barnes as Louise and Linda Blair as Mary.
[yes..I saw it quite a few times....] "
Probably saw you there, I saw it at the Roxy about 5 times, it became the thing to do on Sat nights. Lu Leonard was awesome!
I directed a production of this in college. They wouldn't let us do the nudity, but everything else we got away with.
I have to say, the first time I saw Adrian Zmed's entrance at the T&W in NYC, I found it hard to catch my breath for a while. (well, i was 20... that happened a lot back then.)