Playhouse of the Ridiculous

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The Playhouse of the Ridiculous was a New York City theatre presenting works produced and directed by John Vaccaro and Charles Ludlam. Both men are credited with the invention of the Theatre of the Ridiculous, a school of extreme theatre that knew few boundaries in terms of taste and morality. Its only conceivable antecedent would be the "Theatre Of Cruelty", pioneered by Antonin Artaud. Influences cited have been gothic horror novels, old or 'classic' movies, Wagner, popular culture, and Shakespeare. Other directors involved in this movement include Ronald Tavel, Tom Eyen, Jackie Curtis and Tony Ingrassia. This form of theatre had a large impact on the sensibilities of sixties playwrights, film directors such as Andy Warhol (through his association with Ronal Tavel, who wrote and co-directed many of his early films), and musicians such as Wayne County, Alice Cooper, David Bowie and The New York Dolls. Charles Ludham later severed his connection with the Playhouse of the Ridiculous but his plays continued to exemplify the Theatre of the Ridiculous, in work such as Conquest of the Universe or When Queens Collide and The Mystery of Irma Vep, whose rights to perform the play include a stipulation that lead actors must be of the same sex to insure cross-dressing on stage. Ludham's noted career, including many awards and fellowships, ensured the survival of Theatre of the Ridiculous.

In 1970, John Vacarro produced and directed Jackie Curtis in his play Heaven Grand In Amber Orbit in which Jackie played the female lead role. This play, and others like it, came to personify the Playhouse of the Ridiculous, with its explorations of gender transgression, homosexuality and lesbianism, critique of glamour and fame, and an absolute disregard for the morality of the day and conventions of theatre. The play began with the cast intermingling with the audience while still in the lobby and included topical references to atrocities such as the Charles Manson murder of Sharon Tate and songs like "Thalidomide Baby", subjects audiences had not encountered in the theatre previous to this time. At the time, these plays were frequently the target of protests by Christian groups, for reasons of morality; gay and lesbian activists, who charged that the productions were not 'politically correct'; and the police, whose tactics of raiding the theatre were not uncommon.

CORRECTION: Jackie Curtis never appeared in the lead role in Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit or, for that matter, in any role in the original 1969 production. He played a secondary role in the 1976 production, however. Also, the Play-House of the Ridiculous was never about homosexuality and rarely made topical references. (There was no reference to Manson in Heaven Grand, i.e.) It created a world in which any sexuality was looked on as a source for ridicule. While often violent and disturbing, the Play-House was mainly comedic in a cheerfully nihilistic way. Additionally, "Playhouse" should be hyphenated ("Play-House of the Ridiculous") as that is the only way the name of the group ever appeared in print.