BROADWAY SNAP-SHOT
by Russell Bouthiller

Dateline: 1 December 2003

TABOO

When it comes to Boy George and Rosie O'Donnell, no one in New York has to ask "Where are they, now?" As for the painted 80s rock sensation, he can be found performing nightly at the Plymouth Theatre in his new musical TABOO--scored by the Boy himself with a book by Charles Busch. As for Ms. O'Donnell, she's been anything but a behind-the-scenes player.

Over the past month or so, neither Boy George nor Rosie O'Donnell could say "Boo" without grabbing a headline. O'Donnell, who personally bankrolled the $10 million TABOO, has been working the press circuit from "The View" to Timbuktu. Likewise the Culture Club kid. And, those daily accounts of her court battle with the publishers of "Rosie" magazine gave the former diva of "Daytime Talk" ample opportunity to plug her latest project.

As it turns out, it was the critics who said "Boo," loudest of all. Ben Brantley of the New York Times, "...a disastrously overcrowded tableau of a show." John Simon of New York Magazine, "...unless you are a Boy George fan or a freak-show fancier, you'll find the pickings as slim as the slender thread trying to hold together the disparate halves of Charles Busch's revised book." And, Charles Isherwood of Variety, "A disaster it isn't. A mess? Yes."

Long before the curtain went up, the New York papers labeled TABOO as "a show in trouble." Tabloids buzzed with bits about missed performances, temper tantrums, clashing egos and a last-minute call-up to choreographer Jeff Calhoun who recently scored with his float down BIG RIVER. For Rosie, that champion of the Great White Way who zealously promoted Broadway on morning TV, these notices must have felt like a cold slap in the face.

TABOO takes a look at the spectacular club scene of London in the 1980s and its flamboyant denizens known as the "New Romantics." With a pair of plots moving along parallel tracks, we witness the rise and demise of two key figures: George O'Dowd (Euan Morton), a wide-eyed kid with aspirations of becoming a star; and, Leigh Bowery (George O'Dowd), a performance artist who possesses a truly outrageous fashion sense.

George O'Dowd soon becomes Boy George, lead singer of the group Culture Club. Surpassing all of his fabulous friends, this one-time coat-check clerk blossoms into a true cult sensation. But, fame comes at a heavy cost. A former lover betrays him, his friends use him for their own personal gain, an inspirational figure in his life succumbs to AIDS, and the pressures of celebrity lead to drug addiction.

Meanwhile, Bowery's having a bit of a struggle becoming the pop sensation he feels he ought to be. While his costume creations are outlandish--lavishly designed by Mike Nicholls and Bobby Pearce--they never quite propel him from subculture celebutante to stratospheric superstar. Complicating matters is the rivalry between the two women in his life, Big Sue (Brooke Elliott)and Nicola (Sarah Uriarte Berry). And, finalizing matters are the men in his life from whom he contracted a fatal virus.

The show opens with a FOLLIES-type reunion at the group's old stomping grounds, the nightclub Taboo. We meet some of the key players in Boy George's formative years, such as Marilyn (Jeffrey Carlson), another androgynous rocker, Philip Sallon (Raul Esparza), a staple of the scene, and Marcus (Cary Shields), a composite of Boy George's lovers woven into one character.

Boy George's lively score gives each player their moment to shine. Big Sue's "Talk Amongst Yourselves" and Sallon's "Petrified," are stand out. And, Leigh Bowery's toilet lament "I'll Have You All," is kinky, to say the least. Some of Culture Club's more memorable hits are effectively spooned in, including "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me," "Church of the Poison Mind" and "Karma Chameleon."

Under Christopher Renshaw's direction, TABOO is a show delivered with great heart and affection for its characters. Charles Busch's book, adapted from Mark Davies' London original, offers up some spicy zingers. Performances by all are energetic and sincere, especially Euan Morton's dazzling recreation of Boy George. TABOO, a decidedly unique piece of theatre.