Roar With Laughter With The Ritz On Broadway
The Ritz on Broadway is a show that should not be missed. While it's a great way to spend an evening with some laughs, it's also an important piece with regard to the changing sexual attitudes of our times. The latest revival of the show stars Rosie Perez and Kevin Chamberlain and has already met with rave reviews.
Bumbling Into a Bathhouse The storyline of the play takes a farcical look, at what can happen in a realm of mistaken identities and playing hide and seek. The story revolves around Gaetano Proclo, a straight man with a bumbling but good heart, who is in the sanitation business. Unfortunately, Proclo's father in law is a gangster, who has never approved of Proclo. On his deathbed, he orders his son to kill Proclo and take over the sanitation business.
Under the assumption that it is a Turkish bathhouse, Proclo stumbles into a gay bathhouse, in an effort to hide from his brother in law. However, all is not well inside either- not only does he get pursued by a man, who likes overweight men, he also gets hounded by Googie Gomez, an entertainer who thinks he is a Broadway producer. To make matters worse, his wife comes to find him and thinks that he is actually gay. Needless to say, the show is very heavy on the laughs, especially from Googie, who is heavy on aggression but very low on talent.
The Relevance of the Ritz Today
Those who have tickets to see the Ritz on Broadway might not be aware of how important this show is from a cultural point of view. When it first premiered in 1975, the attitude towards homosexuality was much different. Back then, there never seemed to be enough Ritz on Broadway tickets, as the show ran for an astounding 398 shows. Part of the allure of the show was the backdrop of the gay bathhouse and its gay patrons. During that time, homosexuality was hardly a mainstream entity and the ugly head of AIDS had not yet reared its head.
Theatergoers with tickets to see the Ritz on Broadway today will probably view the show in a much different light. What was considered a comical portrayal of a gay man in the seventies would probably be considered stereotypical today and so the latest revival of the show has been modified to suit the times. Still, it cannot be denied that the show, which was considered risqué when it first came out, is much more mainstream today. With shows like Will & Grace on television and with awareness growing about the AIDS epidemic, the Ritz shines in a different way today.
The latest revival of the Ritz on Broadway showcases some of the best talent in show business as well as some truly stunning backdrops and props. The original show literally blew Broadway away and Rita Moreno, for whom the role of Googie was originally written, won a Tony award for her performance. Today, you can still catch some of those Ritz laughs with tickets to see the show. You do not even have to stand in line- just get online with an authorized ticket vendor and order passes for the Ritz on Broadway.
About the Author
Al is the webmaster of the Ritz On Broadway site, a New York City entertainment website with reviews and news on every event, as well as Ritz On Broadway information.
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