Taboo -- London vs. Broadway - Anyone see it on Sat.

Posted: 11/17/03 at 12:43pm

I saw Taboo last December in London and thought it was really fresh and interesting. Unfortunately, it is an entirely different show in NY. While the melodrama and fireworks may win it a following, I was disappointed (and a bit angry) that someone didn't step in and say..."Wait! We're destroying everything that made Taboo great."

Some quick thoughts:

Concept: I've heard Taboo pitched at "Hairspray meets Rent". That's certainly what I saw on Saturday. In London it was "Cabaret meets Threepenny Opera" with a little Rocky Horror thrown in.

Venue: The large venue wasn't as big a negative as I had expected (In London, the show played in a seedy nightclub), but the smaller venue allowed O'Dowd to involve the audience and really convey the combination of attraction, repulsion and intimidation that personified Leigh Bowery.

Choreography: The new Romantic movement was about individuality...Freaks don't dance like in unison like Annie's Orphans!

Plot Changes: I am not completely opposed to the flashback structure, and the London book certainly had its own problems with multiple subplots, but at least in London, I understood what was at the center (Marcus and his struggle to choose between Kim (Vivienne Westwood) and Boy George). Everyone else was atmosphere, with O'Dowd playing Bowery as the Wizard of Oz (or maybe his scary alter ego...."Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"), and Sallon as the Emcee.

This became a melodramatic homage to Leigh Bowery....I think Bowery would have preferred to maintain his over-the-top image and focus on himself as "art."

Personally, I would have kept the London book and written out the mother's role.

Finally -- The audience. What the hell was up with the bald guy in the black turtleneck with his matching Chuckie Doll???