Broadway Too PC for ‘Bye, Bye, Birdie’ ‘Rape’ Scene?
by Larry O'Connor
I bet that headline got your attention! But, as you’ll see a little later in this post, the scene in question is not really a “rape” at all. But that didn’t keep the NY Daily News from running this headline yesterday:
‘Bye Bye Birdie’ revival on Broadway drops scene for ‘gang rape’ concern
“Just a copy editor trying to get attention by over-exaggerating a story,” you think? That’s what I thought, too. But here is the story with Gina Gershon’s quote:
According to Gina Gershon, who stars as Rose in the upcoming revival, the production has said bye bye to a frisky dance sequence that has been in the show since its debut in 1960. In the scene, Rose, originated on stage by Chita Rivera and on film by Janet Leigh, crashes a Shriners banquet, flirts and cavorts on, around and underneath a table with the fez-heads. As written, it’s a funny dance showcase. So why is it too hot to handle in 2009? Gershon told The News’ theater critic Joe Dziemianowicz, “It seemed a little too gang rape-y.”
The Daily News takes the words right out of my mouth when it says:
That should come as interesting news to countless high schools, parochial academies and theater camps where this number has been performed for nearly 50 years.
Before I give you my guess as to what is really going on here, I will let you judge for yourself. Here is Chita Rivera performing Gower Champion’s original Broadway choreography:
It’s not my favorite scene from a 60’s musical, but I don’t think it could be objectively described as a “Gang Rape”… unless you mean that the character of Rose is raping the gang of Shriners!!!
So, what is this REALLY all about? Here is my hunch:
Whenever a Hollywood star is cast to do a Broadway musical, the first question everyone asks is: ”Can he/she sing?” In the cases of Glenn Close and Hugh Jackman, the answer was “YES!” In the case of Faye Dunaway, the answer was “Oh God, NO!”
But, in the case of Rose in “Bye, Bye Birdie,” the relevant question is not whether Gershon can sing, because Rose’s songs are not very challenging… no, what defines the role of Rose is following in the footsteps of Chita Rivera and living up to the distant memory of her dancing. Rivera is a Broadway legend who enjoys a reputation of holding an audience captivated with her body and how she moved it. So, the big question in relation to Gershon being announced as Rose in this revival was not “Can she sing?”; it was “Can she dance?”
Now, I try my best not to be too snarky or catty in my posts. And I’ve already noted this revival as something I am personally looking forward to… but, based on this little kerfuffle over cutting this dance sequence and the really lame excuse (”gang rape-y”? come on!), I think it is fair to say that the answer is, “No, she can’t dance.. at least not well enough to hold the stage for a dance sequence like this.”
As we’ve all seen on “Dancing With the Stars,” if you are paired with a great dancer, you can learn enough and practice enough to be a good enough partner to look like you can dance. But when you are alone on stage dancing without a partner as Rose is in this number… well, that is something you can’t fake. And to me, this sounds like a good director and a good choreographer protecting their star and coming up with a press agent’s excuse for cutting a number.
Further evidence of this? The show is set to begin previews on September 15. This means the show has been in rehearsal for a couple of weeks. If the producers and director of this show wanted to cut this number for the reason they are stating now, the decision would have been made a while ago. You have to believe that they tried it out, and it wasn’t working. (Unless you believe that they only now have realized that the scene is “Gang Rape-y” after spending the time creating the scene, rehearsing the scene, costuming the scene… etc…)
By the way, revivals have recently been subject to political correct revisions. The most common is the song “I’m an Indian Too” being excised from Irving Berlin’s “Annie Get Your Gun.” The Native American community (how PC am I???) have found these lyrics from the 1946 play offensive:
Like the Chippewa,
Iroquois,
Omaha…
Like those Indians
I’m an Indian too
A Sioux
A Sioux
Just like Rising Moon
Falling Pants
Running Nose
Like those Indians
I’m an Indian too
A Sioux
A Sioux
Some Indian drummers they’re without a care
I may run away
With Big Chief Sun-of-A-Bear
And I’ll have totem poles
Tomahawk
Small papoose
Which will go to prove
I’m an Indian too
A sioux
A sioux
A sioux
Oh, I’m an indian
I’m an Indian
I’m an honest Injun Indian
I’m an Indian, too.
What has always bugged me about this song being removed is the CONTEXT of the song in the show (context still means SOMETHING, doesn’t it?). Annie sings it right after Chief Sitting Bull adopts her into the Sioux tribe. She is honored, proud and happy to be adopted.
Here is rare footage of Mary Martin in the original 1946 production:
Now, obviously this scene is not meant as a historically accurate depiction of a traditional Sioux ceremony, but is it mean-spirited, insulting, derisive? Not in my politically incorrect opinion.
So, I guess I’m saying… Gina, if you can dance it, BRING ON THE GANG RAPE SCENE!
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41 Comments
I understand the revival of Cabin in the Sky will feature no African Americans…too offensive.
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Ain't no advertisin' business like fake-hysteria-thanks-to-buzz-words-like-"gang rape" advertisin' business. Gina certainly has the gams. Bummer if she couldn't bring the goods. I mean, she does have a background as a dancer. IMDb bios, gulp, misleading????
There are quite a few musicals from the '50s and '60s that just haven't aged well. And keep in mind that I grew up with these. "Bye Bye Birdie" is one that just doesn't work for me, and I see no reason to bring it back. Most of the music is forgetable at best. The story is just silly.
Here's some heresy for all you Broadway buffs: I don't think "West Side Story" has even held up well. The music is great, but toe-dancing white-boy "gangstas" who speak in euphemisms? Oh yeah. Real badasses.
As to the above dance number, it does have kind of a sleaze factor implicit to it, although "rape" is probably not the right word. There actually was a choreographed rape scene in "Man of La Mancha", and it wasn't played for laughs.
I think you're probably spot on, in that Gina Gershon is no Chita Rivera.
I was under the impression that actors had to audition for these plays. Am I wrong? If there is a dance number in the play and it's a huge part of the play, doesn't it make sense for the auditioning actresses to be able to dance to get the part? Or am I just plain crazy?
Did Gina Gershon not dance in 'Showgirls'? I know she spent about 90% of the film 95% naked. Which is probably why I can't remember if she could dance or not.
The alleged "gang rape" is likely a PC excuse intended to hide the fear of offending Islamicist sensibilities. The number contains more than a few Middle Eastern elements (stylized, if not absolutely bastardized). Although for the record, the Shrine has NO connection to Islam.
Phthalo, established performers are often cast without further ado.
Revisionist history at its best. Her best pal Bill Clinton will be pleased.
One thing is certain: Gina Gershon is *old*
Old Tom referenced the rape scene in Man of La Mancha and as I recall Joan Diener, the original Aldonza, broke a rib during the run. Jack Cole could be a brutal choreographer but he got his point across in a way that some would purposely shy away from in todays economic climate. That La Mancha wasn't a show for younger children went without saying. Having said that, the producer, director, choreographer (and the "star" herself) must have concerns about her abilities as a dancer in the classic Broadway sense. Miss Rivera is a Broadway Triple Threat/icon. Currently, there aren't many of her caliber that are available to be put into a show as this. I would suggest someone like Sutton Foster, but I believe she's still with Shreck. If they're concerned about "Star Power", John Stamos has enough of a following (IMHO) to bring people in.
But oh-so-cougarlicious.
For a woman who enjoys showing off her assets, excising a scene based on the impression of "gang rape" smells foul.
Well if the artistic decisions about the show are going to made based on political correctness and/or a performer's lack of ability, then I'll go out on a limb here and say the show will flop.
Sounds like you've hit it on the head. This is the sickness that has hit Hollywood: go for name over talent. What would have been wrong with hiring talented less-well-knowns?
I'd love to see them try and bring Kismet back…Oh Boy.
Broadway is the institution that turned Daddy Warbucks into a New Dealer. This stuff doesn't surprise me. This PC-ization of older shows goes back awhile:
—"Fiorello!": A lyric sung by his wife that mentioned his hitting her was changed in a 1990s revival.
—"Flower Drum Song": Disastrously rewritten by David Henry Hwang a few years ago.
It's one thing for a film version to do it, as it is a separate piece of work altogether in a new medium, regardless of the degree of fidelity (some purists expect a high degree from films based on plays but not the plays if they were based on a derivative work). We're talking about the works themselves in the medium in which they originated.
As for Birdie, I thought the movie was better. The play is a dated satire of a non-existent music machine and ethnic prejudices that were, shall we say, "of the time". The movie has an equally silly plot (even sillier, perhaps) but is staged and performed vibrantly and colorfully. The songs, especially "Put on a Happy Face," have kept it alive all these years.
But seriously, people, John Stamos? I think I'm gonna be sick. He's got nothing on Jerry Van Dyke, let alone Dick Van Dyke.
There was a New York production recently (not on Broadway). I heard it was awful. They took a line by the Wazir about finding happy people in Baghdad, and a soldier's response: "But sir, that could take a month" and turned into a comment about the Iraq War. How daring to criticize government in a country that has free speech.
According to the Internet Broadway Database, they already took that show and turned it into a show set in Africa called "Timbuktu" in the late 1970s. Geoffrey Holder directed, and Eartha Kitt starred. It ran 221 performances and I'll eat my hat if there's a 222nd.
I remember the Shriners' dance number from my school's performance of "Bye Bye Birdie" – my *junior high* school! I recall the Rose character, played by the best dancer in our class of 13 and 14 year olds, wearing a red dress slit way up the leg and dancing somewhat sexily on the table. The scene is supposed to be provocative, but the only way it would be objectionable or offensive is if you insist on choreographing it that way. To compare it to "gang rape" is patently absurd.
Broadway and Hollywood: Both are businesses, and both hate each other for doing things that that they'd do in a New York minute.
Britney Spears in "Sweet Charity"? Clay Aiken in "Spamalot"? Mario Lopez in "A Chorus Line"? After this string of deadbeats I'm almost ready to forgive Lucille Ball for "Mame".
Thanks for clarifying that for me.
Idiot producers pull nonsense like this and then wonder why sales go down…
Well, Chita sure held my attention with that scene, all from her dancing. I think your analysis is spot-on. Funny thing I thought these days anytime a producer – of movies at least – can insert gratuitous unnecessary-to-the-plot sex, they want to do it . So, like you I would say Gina can't dance. At least convincingly.
Hardly a gang-rape, more like a gang-bang…big difference!
Gershon couldn't do THAT Chita Rivera number? For God's sake, ANY decent limber dancer could do that number. Which means Gershon is pathetic. And she must be really pathetic because this is a pivotal number in the show. Another thing – Gershon must be especially pathetic because I saw this number on film when Janet Leigh did it and THAT number was even wilder than this one on stage. And we all know Janet Leigh wasn't a hoofer – just an amazing actress. Man – Gershon must be a real bag of nothing if she couldn't soldier up to this number. Kick her out of the show, guys – get the understudy. Because Gershon is pathetic.
I recently saw a production of "Birdie" at Arizona Broadway Theatre – their Rosie was gorgeous, sexy and I was spellbound by her dancing – I'm guessing Gina is trying to make amends for her execrable performance in "Showgirls".
I guess that's it for the Fantasticks as well…
I believe you are half-right about "West Side Story." The book, staging and the dancing are now quite dated. Given what we know of modern street gangs it's just too hard to take the Sharks and the Jets very seriously even though it is based on "Romeo and Juliet." I heard that Arthur Laurents recently reworked the book and lyrics in Spanish for a Broadway revival but I don't know how that went. "West Side Story" is best presented in concert versions where the staging does not distract an audience from the soaring musical score.. I have a lot of problems with the some of the music of both Bernstein and Sondheim but they hit it out of the park with "West Side Story."
[...] moments in PC euphemisms and the continual dumbing down of American culture. Anybody remember the “gang rape” scene in Bye Bye Birdie? No? Neither did I: I bet that headline got your attention! But, as you’ll see a little later [...]
yeah those guys are falling over themselves to get a piece of her
Gershon is sexy but beyond that, i'm not sure what else she brings to the table.
people like to get worked up. If there is nothing to complain about they will invent something. People enjoy being the victim.
btw I miss Tom Bosley
Eeeeuw! That just sucks and I think your hat is safe.
I know that Kismet wouldn never pass muster with the PC crowd nowadays, but damn, that score (adapted by Wright & Forrest from the music of Alexander Borodin) was – and is – brilliant! I think I memorized the whole thing from my Broadway cast album (yes, the 1953 version on vinyl, my dears) and in fact, I find myself humming the songs as I type this comment. Some things are just unforgettable!
"So why be stingy, it depends on what you pay…" Such a funny song about "rape" except not really. I always love the way Jerry Orbach rolled the word around on the cast album.
But hey, let us not take a chance that we might possibly, maybe, just perhaps offend anyone. I swear, I sometimes wonder how that show ran for so many years in NYC!
By the way, I forget who first said this, and I'd give author's credit if I could rememberwho it was.
You can tell West Side Story was written by a couple of white guys. Who else would think you could run through a Puerto Rican neighborhood screaming "Maria" at the top of your lungs, and have only one window open…
By the way, I forget who first said this, and I'd give author's credit if I could remember who it was.
You can tell West Side Story was written by a couple of white guys. Who else would think you could run through a Puerto Rican neighborhood screaming "Maria" at the top of your lungs, and have only one window open…
I remember the movie version with Howard Keel. Didn't they change the dirty sexual double-entendre harem song to make it into something about a street vendor selling candy?
Gotta love the fifties…
Trying to give a good performance in "Showgirls" is like trying to make boeuf bourguignon at a greasy spoon.
LOL! Of course… Rahadlakum!
Instead of the wonderful Richard Kiley singing "Night of My Nights", the film featured Vic Damone (who was actually pretty good) as the young Caliph. And Sebastian Cabot was the evil Wazir – a far cry from Mr. French. In fact, it was a pretty darn good movie – see the comments over on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048260/
While I am no Gershon fan, and I agree the producers probably cut the scene because she couldn't hoof it, I recently stumbled across a tv movie version of 'Birdie' from a while back (Vanessa Williams and Jason Alexander) Hate to say it, kids, I found it jarringly uncomfortable at best, rape-y at worst, and can easily imagine the show without it. It's a really dated bit in a dated show. I also think the "I'm an Indian too" lyrics don't stand the test of time either, regardless of the context. However, "Hair" has always left the lyrics to "Colored Spade" intact, and it's never bothered me (speaking as I do for all blacks everywhere, of course). in context. Go figure.
If that's what a "Gang Rape" is it wouldn't be highly illegal, disgusting and foul. That's just a bunch of people dancing. It's a woman flirting with some guys while dancing that's all. This is a joke.
[...] “Just a copy editor trying to get attention by over-exaggerating a story,” you think? That’s what I thought, too. But here is the storRead more at http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2009/08/25/broadway-too-pc-for-bye-bye-birdie-rape-scene/ [...]
I saw it this past Saturday (9/27/09). Here are my thoughts: I loved Stamos. He was cuddly, adorable, impish. Sort of like the same character he played when he stepped in for Mathew Broderick in "How to Succeed…" He's also a good hoofer. Gina Gershon was a disappointment. I didn't think she was that great of a singer, nor did she dance much. The girl who played Kim was good. Very crisp, clear voice. Had pure innocence in her singing. The kid who played Conrad was just ok. The woman playinig Albert's mother steals every scene she's in. Bill Irwin tried too hard to NOT be Paul Lynde. I did enjoy the show overall. I just wish their was more choreography. Not enough dancing. Stamos holds it together, thankfully.
In the current run of THE FANTASTICKS, the lyrics have been changed as has the name of the "rape ballet"
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