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February 24, 2015

Last Chances to See Well-Received 'Pretty Filthy' Parody of Porn

NEW YORK CITY—AVN previously alerted XXX fans about Pretty Filthy, a new off-Broadway play that opened earlier this month at the Abrons Arts Center in Lower Manhattan—but since the play closes next week, we thought it'd be a good idea to let potential attendees in on the fact that just about every reviewer who's seen it likes it ... a lot. "I wasn't expecting a big, jolly, laugh out loud Broadway style musical when I went to see The Civilians' new show about the porn industry, Pretty Filthy, at the Abrons Arts Center, but that's exactly what I got—red curtain and all," began Robin Schatell for TheLowDownNY.com. "I don't think I've ever seen a more human look into the 'adult entertainment' industry. I can't believe I am saying these things together, but I left having feelings for porn stars; they are real people after all—and I'm sure that was the point." The play's characters generally have recognizable names—possibly a bit too recognizable, since one woman is "Sunny Lane" and one guy is "Herschel Savage." Plus, it's not too difficult to suss out the origins of some others, like Georgina Congress, "whose star rose during the booming '80s," and who "talks about the ups and downs of life in the pornography industry and reminisces about the days when her cohorts were 'The First Video Stars,' selling millions of videos for $80 a pop," or "Taylor St. Ives," a combo of two popular porn names. And if anyone doesn't see Kelly Holland in the description of a "director who found that pornography paid better than the do-gooding documentaries she was making," they need to read more back issues of AVN. "Of giggles there are quite a few in Pretty Filthy," wrote The New York Times' Charles Isherwood. "It's considerably more successful at mining the absurd humor in the porn world, without resorting to sniggering condescension (well, almost never), than fictional plays like Elaine May’s Adult Entertainment or David West Read's The Performers. Still the laughter has a way of sticking in your throat. ... Pretty Filthy does not shy away from exposing the more exploitative aspects of the business and the psychological toll it can take on its players, which they often aren’t aware of until the damage is done." Isherwood isn't forthcoming about just what that "damage" is, but then again, he hasn't done the research that author Becky Wohl and composer Michael Friedman have, and much as adult doesn't like to admit it, not everyone who made a success in porn has left it to have a life of marriage, kids and puppies, or even a corporate slot with a decent income. Still, "For a reality-based show about the L.A. porn industry, Pretty Filthy is some seriously good, clean fun," begins Marilyn Stasio's review for Variety. "Under Steve Cosson’s even-handed direction, Pretty Filthy manages to be both entertaining and enlightening about the industry. ... We’re having fun here, but nobody’s actually making fun of anyone—which is precisely what makes this show so enjoyable and its characters so endearing." That's pretty much what the New York Post's Elisabeth Vincentelli sees in the play as well. "The most wholesome musical in town happens to be about porn," her review begins. "Despite its explicit language (not to mention catchy ditties about things like 'Waiting for Wood'), Pretty Filthy is winningly guileless—almost downright innocent. It’s also frequently hilarious. "Yet the show has an affecting melancholy undertone, too," she adds. "This is an energetic, can-do musical about trying to make a living in an industry devastated by the Internet. Musicians and journalists everywhere will sympathize." "In their previous shows the acclaimed experimental theater troupe The Civilians has tackled such topics as climate change, the 1871 Paris Commune and urban redevelopment," begins Frank Scheck's review for the Hollywood Reporter. "So it's hardly surprising that they've decided to address a literally sexier subject with their newest production Pretty Filthy, about the adult entertainment industry. Featuring songs with such titles as 'Squirting 101' and 'Waiting for Wood,' this breezily entertaining musical is, for obvious reasons, likely to become this innovative company's most popular offering yet. "Definitely not for prudes, the show is indeed pretty filthy. But it's also pretty damn fun," he concludes. In fact, just about the only reviewer who doesn't like it is Vulture.com's Jesse Green. "This [musical] is basically the one-shot effectiveness of porn itself, but not in a form-follows-function way," Green states. "Rather, the Civilians describe Pretty Filthy as 'inspired by a tradition of classic musicals about show business.' I'm not sure which musicals they are referring to. The ones worth being inspired by—take your pick among Gypsy, Follies, Cabaret, A Chorus Line, and many others—are musical dramas built not just on universal themes but on individual character. Drama results from the intersection of the two. Pretty Filthy, by its nature, has almost no drama at all. Rather, it's episodic, with very little cumulative power, because except for [main character] Becky you usually don't know whether you’re following a character you’ve already met or meeting a new one. The seven performers, several of whom are excellent at this sort of thing, play at least 30 parts." Anyway, it appears that anyone who lives in New York City or its environs and who's a fan of adult entertainment will be missing a bet if they don't see this show before it closes on March 1.

 
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