Skin is in at The Caldwell Theatre Company.
Not convinced?
Well, check out the racy promotional photos the Caldwell is using to hype its new musical, Vices: A Love Story, opening July 8 and running through Aug. 2.
At first glance, you’re not certain if the pictures are from a musical theater production or one of those late-night Skinemax, eh, I mean, Cinemax flicks. They certainly get your attention.
And that’s the point, says Clive Cholerton, the Caldwell’s new artistic director who took over for theater co-founder Michael Hall on June 1.
“I wanted to do something to establish what a Clive Cholerton Caldwell is going to be like,” he says. “I wanted to say these are what my sensibilities are as an artist. In this economic environment you have to stand out and be willing to take a chance.”
Especially when your theater is going through some rough financial times like the Caldwell is right now. Word in the local theater community is the company owes money to vendors, is two months behind in mortgage payments and hasn’t been managed effectively for years.
Cholerton doesn’t deny the Caldwell’s in trouble, but says the theater is working with the bank and its vendors. The theater also plans to slash $250,000 from it’s $1.9 million operating budget.
“We can get this turned around,” Cholerton says.
As for Vices, the show, created by Ilene Reid and Michael Heitzman, explores relationships through music and dance. The variety of dance includes modern ballet, modern tap, ballroom and contemporary. The music is just as diverse and features rock, jazz, opera, R&B and disco.
And then, of course, there are those pictures of an extremely attractive couple entwined in ways that is probably illegal in at least 15 states.
Imagine So You Think You Can Dance: The Musical Theater Edition.
If Cholerton wanted the Caldwell’s latest show to get noticed: Mission accomplished.
Ah, the new Caldwell. It sure appears it won’t look a lot like the old one under Clive’s watch.
And they’ll be a lot more skin. Musical theater? Or Cinemax?
You decide.
Are you serious? You think this is racy?
Come on Kevin– we see more skin and positions on the daytime soaps or in the ads for those teenage shows…
I think you’ve gone a bit too far here……….
Racy, of course, is relative and in the eye of the beholder. But, yes, the photos are a bit — how you say? — eye-catching for a local theater production.
The men are gay so what’s the big deal?