The Civilians' Pretty Filthy

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 6:11pm

Has anyone heard any buzz about this? It goes into previews tonight.

I loved "Mr. Burns" at Playwrights but "The Great Immensity" at The Public was painful to sit through.

[Kad]

Posted: 2/6/15 at 2:27pm

I just saw this last night, and enjoyed it a great deal. Leagues, leagues better than Great Immensity. This doesn't have a nonsensical plot bogging it down - there's a loose story about a guy and a girl going into the porn industry, but it's mostly there to give the show some structure. Some of it's on the nose, but a lot of interesting insights are provided into the industry and its relationship to America. Friedman's tunes are good- but those who aren't into his habit of overly verbose, non-rhyming lyrics will probably be annoyed. But there's a great solo from a character who is "gay for pay"- not for comedy- and a duet for a couple dealing with their relationship with each other and with their porn personas.

Performances are uniformly great and there is some nice, nice eye candy in the show, from both the men and women (John Behlmann is in a thong, which is just fine). Luba Mason is a standout as a porn star of the old school.

I'd recommend it. It's a brisk 90 minutes with a lot of laughs and some really great ideas that get explored. The downside is that Abrons Art Center is a pain in the ass to get to.

Updated On: 2/6/15 at 02:27 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/6/15 at 10:46pm

How big is the theater? Are there bad seats?

[Kad]

Posted: 2/7/15 at 3:08am

It's a fairly small house. I don't think there'd be a bad seat.

[SharpLapel]

Posted: 2/7/15 at 11:56am

I agree with Kad. This was one of the better Civilians' shows in a while (I'm generally a fan, esp. GONE MISSING).

(mild spoilers follow)






PRETTY FILTHY is overall sex-positive, and doesn't bang into too many tired clichés about porn. The staging is simple but very effective, and, as Kad said, the cast is terrific. Yes, Friedman's songs aren't the perfectly-crafted BMI-workshop-sanctioned gems that many die-hard fans of the genre require, but they have a lot of heart, melody, and sing with authenticity. If traditional craft and polish is your thing, I'd avoid it. Or if some rather graphic language about sex is likely to bug you, this probably isn't for you. But I really liked the way that the show handled porn workers (ahem) with respect.

For me, it was worth the schlep to the east side of nowhere. (I'm spending a lot more time at Abrons lately, as they seem to have picked-up the slack left by the much-missed, eternally-renovating PS122.)

[wexy]

Posted: 2/8/15 at 8:40pm

Saw it today and thought it was brilliant. First time I've been to the venue.
Discovered a good funky Mexican place La Flaca a few blocks away on Grand.
Friendly with 80s's porn star Jerry Butler who has told me some stories. I really enjoyed Pretty Filthy.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 12:26am

I saw this tonight - and it is a shlep fro the B/D train. But it was worth it.

I really loved it. I think Friedman's music is interesting in that it never really takes off. I always want the songs to be more than they are, but I always want more, so I guess that's a good thing?

I wish they had dropped the "interview" type set-up. Is that normal for Civilians shows? I know they interviewed people, so to put that in the show seems silly. I would have liked it to just be a book musical about Taylor St. Ives' journey and whatnot. But I still loved it even though the story isn't all that different then what you'd expect. Porn is hard. Porn is just like any other job, etc. All the performers were game. The vocals were a little...rough from the men....but the women were fantastic. I really liked the venue and I really liked the design. It was simple, but effective.

The direction was weak. One thing that stuck out in my mind, was why did "Taylor" bring out a lamp for her first scene? She brings out a cushion and a laptop, but then a stagehand brings out a lamp. But it's never used or touched or anything. So why even have it? Streamline. You don't need it.

But I still recommend seeing it. Just wish the venue was easier to get to.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 5:37pm

I saw this last night and it was another instance where I thought I would love it but just ended up liking it. Michael Friedman was my main reason for going because he is one of my favorite lyricists. This time I wasn't blown away by his tunes. There were definitely some standouts even though they came later in the proceedings.

All of the actors were good but Luba Mason pretty much blew everyone out of the water. John Behlmann in some skimpy underwear is pretty much worth the price of admission alone. I loved Marrick Smith's "gay for pay" song and wouldn't have minded a little more skin. The weakest link for me was Steve Rosen and I don't know if that's because he's saddled with the most unappealing characters or because he's not that great a performer.

There is basically no set but I did like the use of projections because they really filled the large space.

There's a lot to recommend here if you're looking for a show that has something to say but doesn't feel like it's beating you over the head.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/17/15 at 12:28am

You're def. in the minority if you didn't like Rosen. He's brilliant in the show. Even his one-off lines killed it. He creates these complete characters with just a walk and a look.

And you liked his "gay for pay" number? I thought the tune was good, but thought he sounded awful on the song. He was straining the whole time and very one note.

[Kad]

Posted: 2/17/15 at 12:50am

I thought that song was one of the highlights of the show when I saw it.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/17/15 at 1:17am

Agreed. I think it's a solid song and a catchy tune. Just not sold on that particular rendition.

I actually was impressed with most of the melodies. Not so much the choreography or the direction.

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 2/24/15 at 11:04pm

I really loved it, much more so than prior shows of The Civilians. Their prior shows had a rough-around-the-edges off-off-Broadway feel to them, but this show is all together different and quite quite good. Just a warning, it is "pretty filthy" as the title suggests!

And it's a very quick 2 block walk if you exit from the north end of the East Broadway stop of the F train, and walk northeast 2 blocks along East Broadway (East Broadway & Rutgers/Ave A to East Broadway & Clinton/Ave B to East Broadway & Pitt/Ave C). Then just a quick 10 seconds north to Pitt & Grand St. A 5 minute walk or less, much more pleasant & quicker than the walk from Times Square N/R/Q to the Signature Theater all the way over on 10th Ave. (If you don't feel like walking, take the M14A bus from Delancey/Essex right to the theater, door-to-door service.)

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/25/15 at 12:17am

I thought the walk felt like forever - probably due mostly to the cold. But it was well worth it once I was in the theatre and the theater is quite cute and a nice space.

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 2/25/15 at 12:21am

Has anyone tried the rush for this? Rush tickets go on sale an hour before curtain. Any suggestions as to how early I should get there/is there a line at all?

[missthemountains]

Posted: 3/7/15 at 10:03am

Does anyone have any way I could hear this?

[Mr. Musical]

Posted: 3/8/15 at 10:03am

According to Kurt Deutsch's FB, they recorded it for Sh-k-Boom last week