Naked Boys Singing

Director: Troy Christian

TLA Releasing

R1 DVD

Release Date: December 2007 (US)

Naked Boys Singing! opened in 1999 and has continued to receive rave reviews. Now, in 2007, a DVD edition is being released of the show via TLA and it should be able to reach even a larger audience.

It would be easy to simply write off a show comprising naked men as a gimmick or as an excuse for sex jokes and nudity and certainly some more “narrow” cities have had problems with the sheer abandon and blatant nudity of the show. However, Naked Boys Singing is a lot more, while its first number “gratuitous nudity” makes it clear that there is no shame is showing what you’ve got, the performance is about a lot more. Nakedness is not just about being without clothes, but being honest and open and that is what Naked Boys Singing is about, or to put it in the words of the show, nakedness is the window to the soul.

There are certainly lots of laughs, silly humour and dick jokes, but these underlie the need to through off the conservative guilt that seems to be encroaching our community and indeed the western world in general as we experience the winter of the “neo-con counter revolution”. The fun numbers such as the memorable choral madrigal with lyrics that consist of nothing but slang words for "dick” and the naked maid are a joy to watch and show the great versatility of the performances. We not only get superb singing and dancing, there are some great voices among these men and they are all performing naked without any sign of “stage anxiety”.

It is not all laughs however; there are many songs which reflect on the superficialities of the gay community, such as the Robert Mitchum number which discusses the lack of acceptance of men of different shapes and sizes and a fun song discussing obsessions with fitness and gym culture.

There are all enjoyable but reflective numbers on growing up gay and experiencing the fear of getting a woody in the gym to being a porn star and trying to explain that to your family to the more painful reflection of loss in Kris Look What You Missed are quite moving.

The major love sequence in Window to Window is beautifully done with its climax in a ballet sequence involving the only male-male kiss in the show which makes it even more memorable.

This is a superb and enjoyable show which covers the whole gambit of modern gay life with lots of joy, humour, reflection and some sadness. At the same time one cannot overlook the sheer beauty of ten men performing naked with a sense of playfuless and openness that is both endearing and exciting !