Jerry Springer - the Opera has arrived in Memphis at Playhouse on the Square.

Playhouse and Springer
keep Memphis jumping




 Editor’s Note:  It’s been almost 38 years since Jackie Nichols led the effort that would bring life to Playhouse on the Square.   The theatre at the corner of Union and Cooper  continues to grow and has big plans for the immediate future.   But first things first.   This weekend it begins its run of Jerry Springer – the Opera.

In Part One of  a two-part interview,  Memphis Mojo’s David Wayne Brown interviews Playhouse’s executive director about  this controversial new production.  





Q. You’re bringing in what promises to be a controversial show, Jerry Springer — The Opera.

A. Oh, yes. The background is this: About three years ago two shows opened at the same time.  One was Urinetown, which opened on Broadway, and the other was Jerry Spring — The Opera in London. I remember thinking, “Oh my God, what is my business coming to?” (Laughter.) Then I went to see Urinetown and it was such exciting, refreshing political commentary on many issues in society today, including corporate greed and other forms of inhumanity.

Q. But also redemptive.

A. Right. And other than the title, there was nothing challenging. No bad language or nudity. We knew when it came available we needed to bring it to Memphis. It was a brilliant production. Then a year or so later, because it wasn’t playing in the U.S., people I knew were flying over to London to see Jerry Springer and returning and telling me that it was a groundbreaking experience. They had never seen anything like it. So one of our generous donors helped me go to London. I saw the production and I was blown away by it. It was exciting music. It’s very contemporary and hip. It’s also very profane. The language in it is difficult. To use one of your words, it was also very redemptive. At the end of it I was thinking that I never expected to have this message delivered to me.

Jackie Nichols

You see, the piece is not so much a commentary about the Jerry Springer TV show as it is about American mass media. The first act is his show, with the usual suspects brought on. And nothing is bleeped out. One interesting aspect of the piece is that there is an ensemble of 14 or so people plus the Jerry Springer character.  Everyone but that performer has to sing extremely difficult operatic work. We had to cast a number of the roles outside of Memphis.

Q. So when the title includes the phrase “the opera” it really is?

A. Definitely. It’s difficult opera music. Think about it: operatic, bizarre characters in bizarre situations, profanity. When Jerry Springer himself went to London and saw the show he said he wished he had thought of the idea first … It ran for three or four years. It toured Great Britain. It was often picketed, which of course brought it much more attention.

Q. But the show ends with a dramatic life?

A. The piece is very spiritually moving at the end. It takes a lot of American icons to task, from the Ku Klux Klan on down. When people come to the show here, at the box office there will be a book containing some of the profanity in the show. If any of the words bother the person they probably shouldn’t see the show. That way, a person can’t sit in the theater and not know what’s coming, in terms of the language.

Q. It sounds like your message also is “Come in and get through that first act, because there is so much more to come in the second act.”

A. That’s right.

Q. Expect protests?

A. There may be some. Some people think Midtown is a radical part of town (laughter), but we’ve never had that much trouble. We are getting a lot of interest among the national news media. We think it’s a real coup for Memphis to get the first American licensing for the show.

Q. How did that happen?

A. The show didn’t materialize in New York. They couldn’t put the financing together. That might have had something to do with its controversial nature, but it’s a simple show and so the play just doesn’t support any attempt to “Broadway” it out, so to speak, with a lot of technology.

Q. It’s just two acts, and has a simple set?

A. Right. The first act is the Jerry Springer show and the second act is the show taking place in hell, with the set deconstructed. Anyway, it didn’t happen on Broadway. Then there was going to be a national tour, but that didn’t materialize. So about six months ago I decided to email the producers of the show in London and I put at the top of the page, the 10 reasons that Jerry Springer — The Opera should have its American premiere in Memphis, Tennessee.

Q. And that got their attention?

A. You have to know what happens in the second act. Essentially Springer is not able to establish a reconciliation between Jesus and the devil.  It’s impossible for time immemorial. At that point the heavens open and God is revealed. God ends up being this enormously obese Elvis Presley character in a white jump suit, singing “It ain’t easy being me.” Even though they don’t say it’s Elvis, you know it’s Elvis. So the 10 reasons I listed, began with, “Number one, Elvis is from Memphis.” And so on, and the number 10 reason is, “Why the hell not?”

Q. It worked?

A. They responded within 24 hours. Soon we worked out a contract. Yes, this will be one of the edgiest productions we’ve ever done. But not to worry.  For people who don’t like the show, next year we’re bringing back A Tuna Christmas and Pirates of Penzance and plenty of others to suit more traditional tastes.