One of my first major theatre memories is seeing Hair at The Media Theatre when I was thirteen. For those who don’t know, Hair is a musical about hippies. That’s basically it, really. It’s a lot of fun, and the music is great…admittedly, there’s not much of a plot, but for me, that’s never been an issue. It’s a damn good musical, one of my favorites to this day. And something a lot of people know about Hair (sometimes the only thing they know about Hair) is that there’s nudity in it.
When The Media Theatre put on Hair, they would not sell tickets to anyone under the age of sixteen. Which makes sense, because of the nudity. My mum had to actually lie about my age when she called to get tickets. This was in 2003, so I’d say it was a whole different world. Because I think, in current times, these things would be handled much differently. The idea of nudity for thirteen year olds has changed so much. I think it’s a very interesting idea, in a world where there’s constant debate about censorship and what is appropriate.
The thing is, these things can change so quickly. In the times I’ve seen Hair, the nudity is sort of veiled and very tasteful. I imagine it’s always been this way in the show. It was first produced in 1968, and although I can’t say firsthand, I know that world was different from when I saw it in 2003. And even that changed when it was brought back to Central Park in 2008. And Broadway the next year. That’s how quickly the world changes.
It’s not just Hair, of course. My favorite musical, Spring Awakening, first on Broadway in 2006, also has nudity in it. It actually became a big thing at one point in time. At the end of Act 1, you see a woman’s breasts and a man’s butt. The thing is, though, which you see most clearly depends on which side of the stage you’re on. Even more so with onstage seating. Spring Awakening offered onstage seating, which was a very fun and alternative way to watch the show. But something that always came up with onstage seating was whether you were on “the boobs side” or “the ass side”.
Now, I don’t know if that ever played a part in ticket sales…but obviously, box office was much different then. It was online, and there was really no way of a real person asking about a ticket buyer’s age. Spring Awakening’s approach to nudity is very different from Hair’s, though. There’s a lot less of it, for one. But the circumstances are different in general. Hair is more of a stylistic, abstract moment for the characters. Spring Awakening’s nudity is sexual in nature. I’m not sure if that makes a difference or not, but I imagine people would argue either way.
There’s perceived nudity, too. In In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play, there’s no clear nudity, despite the topic and situations in the show. But there’s definitely some perceived nudity, especially towards the end. It’s sort of a trick. This also happens at times when the characters are using the vibrator. We don’t really see anything, but we all know what’s going on. Skirts only go up so much (in both productions I’ve seen of it).
Again, does this make a difference or not? I think it really depends who you’re asking. Obviously, my mum didn’t care at all taking me to a show with nudity when I was thirteen. But she’s always been open to these things. There’s so much bullshit censorship in this world, and I don’t think it has any place in theatre. Theatre is too real, too raw. You’re experiencing something intimate (which I don’t even mean as a joke here), and most of the time, learning something about humans and human nature. However, I know a lot of people wouldn’t want to “expose” younger people to some of these things. Nudity is only human, but it’s still very taboo in some ways.
I would like to wind things down with a personal experience I had regarding nudity in a play. I worked in box office for a bit at People’s Light, quite a few years ago. The season that was canceled due to COVID, they were producing a show about the historical figure Bayard Rustin. This show was put on when the theatre reopened indoor theatre for their 2021/2022 season. There was nudity in the show, a first for People’s Light (as far as I know). And in box office, whenever we sold a subscription that included the show or just tickets to the show, we had a whole spiel we had to say to patrons about the nudity in the show. It included a bit about children under the age of eighteen, the nature of the nudity, and a general what to be expected. I understand why we had to do this, but I also felt like I was giving a warning to people rather than some information.
I think nudity in theatre can be treated like nudity anywhere, but I personally think it’s nothing that should be such a big problem. Why should we be teaching younger people to be ashamed of their bodies in that way? I know that nudity isn’t always done tastefully in shows, but that doesn’t mean all of them are like that. I think it’s important to understand that it’s a part of the show, part of the art. And I’m so grateful my mother took me to see Hair when I was thirteen. I think I understand all of this so much better because of it.
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