Drawing on extensive interviews and research, The Civilians' Pretty Filthy explores the real stories of people in the adult entertainment industry and runs through March 1.
Directed by Steve Cosson with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman and a book by Bess Wohl, Pretty Filthy features the same design team behind last season's Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play.
The cast features Alyse Alan Louis (Mamma Mia!), Luba Mason (Chicago, Jekyll & Hyde, How to Succeed…), Steve Rosen (Spamalot, The Farnsworth Invention), Marrick Smith (The Underclassman, Fun Home), Maria-Christina Oliveras (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Here Lies Love), John Belhmann (Journey's End, The 39 Steps), Lulu Fall (Hair) and Jared Zirilli (Lysistrata Jones).
Inspired by a tradition of classic musicals about show business, Pretty Filthy, according to press notes, "is the untold showbiz musical, based on interviews with adult entertainers. Armed with their notepads and recorders, The Civilians crossed the mountain range that divides Hollywood from the 'other Hollywood' — the San Fernando Valley, world capital of porn. The creative team conducted interviews and visited sets to get an insider's glimpse into a world that is far more than the sum of its (very) visible parts. The Civilians' time in the Valley captured a singular time in our culture; this digital era that’s radically transformed the business of sex. Pretty Filthy is ultimately a story about trying to make a life and a living in an ever-changing world — a task that's all the more complicated when your work is so intimately tied to customer 'satisfaction.'"
The artistic team includes Neil Patel (set design), Emily Rebholz (costume design), Justin Townsend (lighting design), Ken Travis (sound design), Darrel Maloney (projection design), Sam Pinkleton (choreographer), Nathan Dame (music director) and Terri Kohler (production stage manager). Led by artistic director Cosson, The Civilians creates new theatre from creative investigations into the most vital questions of the present. This season, the company is the first-ever theater company in residence at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Abrons Arts Center is located at 466 Grand Street. For more information and tickets, call (212) 352.3101 or visit AbronsArtsCenter.org.
