Irreverent ‘Naked Boys Singing!’ gives boost to theater

Anyone who's tried undoubtedly knows how tough it is to build a theater space and have them come. Onyx Theater owner Michael Morse might be on to a solution.

Morse started out doing about one community theater show a weekend, with an admission price of about 10 bucks. Fiscal logic told you the place wasn't likely to last long. Now, he's increasing his product load.

"Naked Boys Singing!" is enjoying an open-ended run at 10 p.m. It's the kind of irreverent, adult entertainment that seems right for 10 p.m. And the admission -- well worth it, in my view -- is $30, which gives greater hope of profit. He's also hosting regular events around the midnight hour, as well as one-night performances during the week. If "Naked" continues, he's hoping to book other plays at around 7 p.m. This could be everyone's win-win. He won't have to rely on the (usually) small revenue from community theater, space-starved playhouses will have a place to perform, and the general public will be blessed with more product.

Morse lucked out on obtaining "Naked Boys Singing!" Producer Jimmy Emerson said he contacted the New York producers on a whim (the show's been running off-Broadway for a decade) and was told, "We've been trying to get to Vegas for 10 years!" Emerson said the Strip wouldn't touch the piece because of the male nudity. Now don't that beat all? (If you want to keep track of what's going on at the Onyx, check out their Web site at onyxtheatre.com.) ...

Local theaters have had a reputation for not getting along with one another. A group representing a multitude of organizations got together Sunday to change all that. They talked about problems in recruiting volunteers, finding rehearsal spaces, and trying to get Vegans into the playgoing habit. They'll be meeting on an ongoing basis (info: publisher@stageonelv.com). ...

Have the problems between College of Southern Nevada and Insurgo Theater been resolved? CSN director of performing arts center Brenda Talley says yes. Insurgo did "Medea" there recently, and, in a flurry of e-mails, accusations were made that performance-program director Joe Hammond was trying to make Insurgo pay exclusively for the show's financial failure. Artistic director John Beane said he hated dealing with "peasants." That didn't sit well with Hammond who shot back, in strong terms, that Beane continually failed to live up to his end of the bargain. Talley claimed CSN wanted very much to share the financial burden with Beane, but Beane failed to show up at Talley's office three times to turn in receipts. Talley sympathized with both Hammond and Beane. "There's a lot of drama in drama," she said. "It's hard when you put on a show and have a lot of expectations." Talley said Insurgo would be welcomed at CSN in the future. Good to hear.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.