NEW YORK — “Happy dust,” the powdery white drug at the center of George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” is rendered in Spanish as “perico,” and in German as “Schnee” — both maintaining the slanginess of the original. But “buckra,” a derogatory word for white men, becomes the more straightforward “blanco” and “die Weissen.”
The marketing campaign for the Broadway-bound “Slave Play” is following the time-honored tradition of leaning into its controversy, with pull quotes like “Gaudily transgressive” and “Gruesomely sexy.” Assuming the transgressions and sexiness carry through to the Golden Theater, “Slave Play” will find itself part of a rich history of productions — many of them transfers from the more licentious lands of Off Broadway and London — that shocked audience members upon opening on Broadway.
Shawn had never set foot in this theater, which is currently presenting “Everything Is Wonderful,” Chelsea Marcantel’s bruising story of rage and absolution within an Amish community.
To hip-hop artists, he was the supplier of endless beats and grooves. To Stephen Sondheim acolytes, he was the composer of the show that beat “Follies” for the Best Musical Tony Award. And to generations of musical theater fans, Galt MacDermot was the guy who looked out of place in a picture on the back of the “Hair” cast recording.
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