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Naked Boys Singing records
Coll2013-098
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Title: Naked Boys Singing records
creator:
Schrock, Robert
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2013-098
Physical Description:
8.8 Linear Feet
7 boxes.
Date (inclusive): 1968-2007
Abstract: Correspondence, scripts, sheet music, contracts, production notes, photographs, clippings, publicity material, theater administration
files, DVDs, audiocassettes, posters, promotional objects and other material from
Naked Boys Singing!, bulk 1998-2004, an off-Broadway musical revue of gay experiences told through song and dance, co-created by Robert Schrock.
The collection includes recording demos from the show's composers, as well as administrative files and promotional material
from its national and international productions, including shows in Norway, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Japan, Italy and Australia.
Container: 1-7
Naked Boys Singing! is a musical revue conceived and directed by Robert Schrock. It opened at The Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles in 1998.
As its title suggests, the revue is performed by a cast of nude men singing about their experiences as gay men. The music
and lyrics were written by Schrock, Bruce Vilanch, Stephen Bates, Marie Cain, Shelly Markham, Jim Morgan, David Pevsner, Ben
Schaechter, Rayme Sciaroni, Trance Thompson, and Mark Winkler. It was originally conceived by Schrock as a way to increase
waning ticket sales at the gay and lesbian playhouse, Celebration Theatre, where Schrock served as Artistic Director.
Naked Boys Singing! became a success traveling around the country and running in an off-Broadway theater for eight years; and a movie version
was released in 2007. The show has also played in eight countries.
Naked Boys Singing! caused an uproar during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York when its producers offered discounts to the Republicans
attending the convention. The Republicans demanded that the show be removed from New York City's official tourism website,
but no action was taken. In December 2004, a production in Atlanta was halted after the police cited the production for permitting
adult entertainment without a license. Atlanta's Mayor Shirley Franklin quickly asked that the charges be dropped as they
were based on a misreading of the city code. In 2003 the show was forced to close and change venues in San Juan, Puerto Rico
when the government's Department of Culture expressed concern for the "good name and prestige" of the theater. And in 2001
a Provincetown law stating that there cannot be any nudity within a certain number of miles from a church caused production
to be halted until a legal battle resulted in the law being changed.
Sources:
Box 1, Folder 1,
Naked Boys Singing records, Coll2013-098, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
Box 1, Folder 2,
Naked Boys Singing records, Coll2013-098, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
Box 1, Folder 3,
Naked Boys Singing records, Coll2013-098, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
"Naked Boys Singing Is On Stage Once More," Out.com, http://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2012/03/22/naked-boys-singing-stage-once-more
(accessed October 18, 2013).
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Received by ONE board member Bill Kaiser. Exact date of acquisition unknown.
[Box/folder #, or item name]
Naked Boys Singing Records, Coll2013-098, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
Collection processed by Loni Shibuyama with assistance from Sarah Wilson, October 2013. The finding aid was updated in April
2016 to include an additional 1.5 linear feet of material.
The collection includes correspondence, scripts, sheet music, contracts, production notes, photographs, clippings, publicity
material, theater administration files, DVDs, audiocassettes, posters, promotional objects and other material from
Naked Boys Singing!, bulk 1998-2004, an off-Broadway musical revue co-created by Robert Schrock. The administration files include scripts, sheet
music and creative notes; programs and publicity material for the show and related events; clippings and theatre reviews;
and other administrative records from
Naked Boys Singing! shows performed throughout the United States, and international shows in Norway, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Japan, Italy, South
Africa and Australia. The DVDs and audiocassettes include video recordings of performances as well as recording demos from
the show's composers. The collection also includes promotional posters and objects such as a bathrobe, hats, a duffle bag,
buttons, magnets and T-shirts. The collection also includes administrative files for other theatrical productions in which
Schrock worked as an actor, director, writer, production manager or production designer.
This collection is arranged in the following series:
Series 1. Administration files
Series 2. DVDs and audiocassettes
Series 3. Posters and promotional items
Series 4. Other productions
The following posters from Robert Schrock have been separated from the collection and placed with the ONE Archives poster
collection:
Back Home, undated.
The Ballad of Little Mikey, 1994.
Clean, 1998.
Club Hell, 1995.
Cyberqueer, 1996 and 1998.
End of the World Party, circa 1995.
The Gay 90's Musical, circa 1995.
The He-Man Woman Hater's Club, undated.
Hollywood Honeymoon, circa 1994.
I Got Plans for the Rest of My Life, 1991.
Men on the Verge of His-Panic Breakdown, circa 1994.
Morticians in Love, 1997.
The Passion of Carmen!, 1997.
Supernormal Clutches, circa 1994.
Too Old for the Chorus, circa 1998.
White Boy, circa 1998.
The following T-shirts have been separated from the collection and placed with the ONE Archives garment collection:
Morticians in Love, 1997.
The Passion of Carmen!, 1997.
Too Old for the Chorus, circa 1998.
One videocassette (VHS),
Supernormal Clutches, 1996, has been separated from the collection and cataloged into the ONE Archives audiovisual database.
Celebration Theatre Collection, Coll2007-017, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Theatrical posters
Gay composers
Homosexuality in the theater
Audiocassettes
Musicals
Musical theater -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Gay theater
Schrock, Robert
Celebration Theatre (Los Angeles, CA.)