I Had My Jerry Springer Moment

Saturday night, Chuck and I went to see Jerry Springer The Opera and we emerged a little dirtier. It was one of the most irreverent musicals I've ever seen, and I'm not completely sheltered. I mean, I lived in LA for 11 years. I've seen a few things.

For the uninitiated, it's an opera about the Jerry Springer Show, and it's abso-f*cking-lutely hilarious. I don't normally curse, but after 2 hours of this Springer show, it's hard not to.

I'm not saying I didn't like it. I actually thought it was hilarious. But it did that thing that the actual Jerry Springer show does. It made me squirm in my seat, uncomfortable with the prurient nature of what I was watching, cringing at the words being said, the topics being covered. Let's just say there's a lot of toilet humor. And tons of profanity. There is no bleeping in this show - and the curses spoken (and sung) are the absolute worst in the English language.

One of the songs has a chorus that repeats over and over again "What the f*ck, what the f*cking f*cking f*ck?" Seriously. The C-word is used as the main refrain in one song, the word d__bag in another. Jesus is portrayed as a diaper-wearing, whiny victimy "slightly gay" tenor, and the whole thing is definitely blasphemous.

But we liked it. As we were walking out, we were chuckling to ourselves like we'd just done something naughty - as if we'd just had a frisky moment in the bathroom that only we knew about. We've been joking about it for days and our language has certainly gotten more vulgar as a result.

This show was a smash hit in London but for some reason, it never really took off in the States. I think that's partly because it hits a little too close to home for us.

It's easy for the Brits to laugh at our religious zeal and parody our most embarrassing #1 TV show, the one that shows the ugly (but scarily true) underbelly of America. When we're forced to look at it - have it literally "in our faces" - it's not so easy for all of us to take. "Jersey Boys" or "Mama Mia" this is not.

But if Jerry Springer The Opera comes to your city, I highly recommend that you see it. It's an experience, it's a happening, and it's a f*cking fun night out!