Two More Festival Shows Now Open

The remaining two shows of the Naked July Festival opened on Thursday, July 8, as audiences had their first opportunity to see The Tumultuous Tale of the Tragically Transparent Tunic and Eros. Eros starts just one hour after the Transparent Tunic is over, so many audience members purchase tickets to both shows for a complete and very diverse evening of entertainment.

The early show written by David Denman is an adaptation of the classic tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” but this version is set at an unspecified time and place that leaves the story open to many interpretations. In this scene, the emperor recalls a romance with a woman named Moonbeam in the hippie era of the ‘60s. Mike Brown and Megan Brown share a quiet moment here before she suggests that they undress so that they can experience the beauty of nature in a free and natural way without the restrictions of clothing that society imposes on us.

In a later scene, Jen LaTurner and Shawn Goudie play the Empress and Demersal, two associates who are plotting to assassinate the Emperor in order to seize power. They are shown here in a sensual dance of love as they celebrate their plan to poison the leader with a vial of potent and deadly chemicals. They will discover later that there are some holes in their scheme.

The late night show in the Naked July schedule on Thursdays and Sundays is an extremely entertaining and edgy piece titled Eros. Unlike the two satirical adaptations of "The Emperor’s New Clothes" and the magical and colorful world of Living Canvas - Demons, Eros is decidedly erotic in nature. The show is composed of a series of short episodes or skits that are all built around the central themes of sexuality and eroticism in our lives. The cast of six intrepid performers, three male and three female, skillfully work through a diverse evening of scenes that range from whimsical and humorous to intensely erotic. With the infusion of music, dance, sensual lighting, and multimedia elements, Eros might remind viewers of Oh! Calcutta!, the infamous off-Broadway show that shocked audiences in the late ‘60s.

We first meet the six performers when they move out into the thrust stage area clad only in black underwear. Throughout the evening, the live performances on stage are accompanied with short multimedia slide shows filled with images of erotica throughout history from countries and cultures around the world. Like Taylor Entwhistle and Carolina Granger shown here, all of the performers move around the stage just a few feet from the audience as they chant the single word “erotic” to prepare the audience for the segments to come.

Eros confronts issues of sexuality from a wide range of perspectives, and the show is filled with sensual dance and musical numbers as well as allusions to familiar stories such as Dracula, Romeo and Juliet, and Brokeback Mountain. Shown here in one of the most intimate and erotic scenes in the show is a lesbian encounter between Gina Marie Koontz and Taylor Entwhistle as they undress and enjoy the pleasures of a new sexual experience with each other for the first time. Photo by David Silverman.

In a later scene that evokes images of the dark world of vampires and the Dracula saga, hooded figures descend on the stage and then haunt the audience as they move around the house making muted hissing noises. A scream is heard backstage and a frightened woman in a white gown is dragged to the center of the stage and then encircled by the vampire spirits. The young woman played by Gina Marie Koontz is helpless as a prince of darkness strips away her clothes before making her a victim of his evil intentions. Photo by David Silverman.

Eros is a show that will challenge your views of eroticism and sexuality, and the memorable scenes will remain with you long after the performance is over. The six performers reveal a considerable range of talent as they seamlessly move from one segment to another, and their bold and confident performances are the key to the success of Eros.