West End Wednesday: TABOO

Taboo is a jukebox musical exploring the life of pop star Boy George, the lead singer of British band “Culture Club”, who helped to epitomise the new romantic era. Whilst the plot does focus on the new romantic era and the club scene’s effect on Boy George, and is life pre and post-fame, it does employ artistic license when it comes to certain plot elements and the relationships of George and his contemporaries. 

The musical opened in London’s West End on 29 January 2002 at The Venus (now Leicester Square) Theatre. The opening night cast included Luke Evans, Matt Lucas, Dianne Pilkington, Declan Bennet, Lyn Paul and Euan Morton in the role of George O’Dowd (Boy George). Of Morton’s performance, Boy George himself said: “He’s more Boy George than I am”.  The production was directed by Christopher Renshaw and choreographed by Les Child. The show was a success with critics and audiences and ran for just over a year, closing on 26 April 2003. The production was nominated for 4 2003 Laurence Olivier awards, winning in the category of ‘Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical’ for Paul Baker. 

Rosie O’Donnell saw the show in London and loved it so much that she decided to finance a Broadway transfer. The production opened at The Plymouth (now Gerald Schoenfeld) Theatre on 13 November 2003. The Broadway version saw a heavy rewrite of Mark Davies Markham’s original book by Charles Busch. The production starred Euan Morton reprising his role from the London production and starred Boy George himself in the role of Leigh Bowery. The Broadway production of Taboo was not well received by critics, which affected the overall ticket sales. The decision was made to close after 100 performances with O’Donnell losing her entire $10million investment. All of this aside, O’Donnell has expressed interest in reviving the show on Broadway in the future. 

Taboo was revived in 2012 in a site-specific production at Brixton Clubhouse from September to December. The revival saw Paul Baker return to his award-winning role of Phillip Sallon, as well as the show’s co-creator and original director Christopher Renshaw returning to direct. The rest of the cast included Adam Bailey, Niamh Perry, Alistair Brammer and Matthew Rowland as George. Due to success, the show was extended and in December 2012, new cast members took over including Jordan-Luke Cage, Sarah Goggin and Paul Treacy. The production closed in March 2013. 

Taboo is a gorgeous new romantic show in desperate need of a revival. Give it a listen Besties!

FACTS:

Music: Boy George, Kevan Frost, John Themis, Richie Stevens
Lyrics: Boy George
Book:  Mark Davies Markham, Charles Busch

Theatre: The Venus Theatre
Run: 29 January 2002 – 26 April 2003 (around 520 performances) 

OLIVIERS:

(NOMINATED) Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical – Euan Morton, Best Costume Design – Mike Nicholls

(WON) Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Paul Baker

TONYS:

(NOMINATED) Best Original Score – Boy George, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical – Boy George, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical – Raul Esparza, Best Costume Design – Mike Nicholls and Bobby Pearce. 

Raul Esparza won a Drama Desk Award for his performance and Euan Morton won a Theatre World Award for his.