Taboo (Broadway Version)

Rosie O'Donnell loved Taboo in London and financed the transfer to Broadway. She hired Charles Busch to write a new libretto.

Charles removed the audience surrogate Billy, his girlfriend Kim and his squabbling parents. Boy George was promoted from supporting character to leading man for a Funny Girl style rise and fall. Critics agreed this was a good idea.

However by this point the real Boy George was playing the flashy supporting role of Leigh Bowery. The Broadway libretto beefed up Leigh's  role and gave him a love triangle of his own. Critics felt this was a bad idea. Boy George was once again being upstaged in his own musical, this time by Boy George.

When Taboo was revived in London in 2013 they brought back the old book, with Billy the ingenue, but stuffed in some of the Broadway songs. Read more about that production here.

Taboo (London version)

Boy George composed a musical in which he played performance artist Leigh Bowery while another actor played a young Boy George. Things got meta.

Taboo showcases the real-life personalities of London's 80's club scene through the eyes of a fictional couple, Billy and Kim. Critics loved the party atmosphere but many felt the ingenues sucked a lot of fun out of things. This was despite a charismatic performance from Luke Evans, now widely known for the Hobbit films. When Taboo transferred to Broadway Billy and Kim were excised and Boy George was promoted from support to leading role. More about that in my next post.

Read more about Taboo here.