Thirty years after "Oh Calcutta!," musical revues are still titillating us with nude performers. The word on "Naked Boys Singing!," the new musical revue, is delightful. Its 13 talented writers have given its nine attractive (and mostly nude) men a witty evening that has more than just its title concept to work with. Conceiver-director Robert Schrock has come up with occasions when nudity is necessary, for example, a locker room, a porno set, a strip club, an artist's photo shoot, and the baby at a bris.
The opening ensemble, "Gratuitous Nudity," sets the tone of tweaking the audience's liberality. Later, when one of the actors walks up to audience members in the first row and asks, "How do you feel talking to a naked man?," we realize that our feelings about nudity are still rife for teasing.
The cleverest material is by composer-lyricist David Pevsner: "The Naked Maid" performed by Sean McNally and "Perky Little Porn Star" sung by Daniel C. Levine. A note of poignancy is added in lyricist Schrock and composer Stephen Bates' ballad "Kris, Look What You've Missed," performed by Jonathan Brody as a reverse striptease sung to a lover who has died of AIDS. Mark Savage's "Muscle Addiction" with Tim Burke leading the company, reminds us why we spend so much time at the gym. Mark Winkler and Shelly Markham's song "Robert Mitchum," sung by Tom Gualtieri, takes us back to the days before sex symbols spent their days at the gym.
Jeffry Denman's choreography is fast paced and resourceful. And, yes, costume designer Carl D. White is needed to create clothes for the gym scene, the relatives at the bris, and the old time Hollywood movie number. His settings, including the giant zipper on the show curtain, are as witty as the musical numbers.