The Top Ten Sexiest Broadway Musicals And Plays To Grace The Broadway Stage, These Shows Are A Little Bit Racy And May Feature Nudity And Sex
The Sexiest Shows To Ever Be On Broadway
Over the decades Broadway has shown a lot of skin and audiences are here for it. The peep shows of Times Square may be mostly a thing of the past but there’s still plenty of steamy, sexy heat rising from the footlights of the Great White Way.
Which Broadway musicals and plays have made the sexiest impression on the live theatre industry? Read on to find out and tell us if you agree.
10. Passion
While Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s 1994 Tony-winning musical is extremely dark in nature, the Fatal Attraction vibes of the grotesque Fosca’s obsession with a handsome, young captain give the opera-like Passion a whole lot of sex appeal. Moreover, the show opens with a beautiful woman Clara in various states of undress. A departure from much of Sondheim’s other endeavors, the themes of sex, obsession and power are undeniably sizzling.
9. Cabaret
While a musical set in the destitute Weimar Republic during the Nazi ascent to power hardly seems sexy by nature, Kander and Ebb’s carnal score and Bob Fosse’s signature choreography make this often revived dark musical a feast for the senses. Much of the action is set in the seedy Kit Kat Club, putting a prime spotlight on scantily clad cabaret performers. The juxtaposition of evil and hedonism makes for a subversively titillating experience.
8. The Blue Room
Adapted from Arthur Schnitzler’s French play La Ronde, David Hare’s 1998 iteration made headlines for featuring a naked Nicole Kidman. So unbelievably lurid and prurient was the show, London critic for The Daily Telegraph, Charles Spencer called it “pure theatrical Viagra.” Kidman’s nudity was brief but ramped up ticket sales. Her co-star Iain Glen gave the audience full-frontal— even a naked cartwheel!— but that didn’t leave as much of an impression on theatergoers.
7. Hair
Let the Sunshine In! And also, let the audience in where the sun don’t shine. The American Tribal Love-Rock musical commonly known as just Hair presented an uncensored portrait of the sexual revolution, anti-war sentiments, social politics and hippie counterculture of the late 1960s. Songs about drugs, masturbation and free love have stood the test of time. And that famous nude scene at the end of Act 1 will forever be associated with this tapestry of bohemian life.
6. I Love My Wife
While certainly not as groundbreaking as Hair, this Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart satirical commentary on the sexual revolution of the freewheeling 1970s delved into the somewhat taboo topic of swinging and orgies. Almost every single song in the jazzy score references sex in their titles alone (Sexually Free, Everybody Today Is Turning On, Married Couple Seeks Married Couple). Not the most enduring musical on the list but the many bedroom scenes and partially clothed characters made this for a hot night at the theatre.
5. Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
This Terrence McNally two-hander centers on a middle-aged couple whose very first date culminates in a proverbial roll in the hay. While nudity is, well, front and center, what makes this play so sexy is how the nakedness of the characters illuminates the themes of vulnerability and intimacy. Honest conversations about life, love and relationships require a certain shedding of the skin. Apparently, actors like Stanley Tucci, Edie Falco and Audra McDonald, who have played the title characters, all agree.
4. Chicago
Pretty much everything Bob Fosse touched gave off major sexy vibes and the musical Chicago is no exception. Again, that unmistakable alchemy of Fosse’s body-conscious choreo and Kander and Ebb’s jazz infused score— most notably the Cell Block Tango— can’t help but to stimulate an audience. Even more impressive, the revival of the 1920s era murder fantasia centering on Roxy Hart and Velma Kelly, is now one of the longest running shows in Broadway history.
3. The Full Monty
Probably the most comedic entry on this list, the endearing story of a bunch of unemployed steel mill workers who resort to stripping in an effort to earn some much needed cash was a boffo hit on Broadway in every sense of the word. David Yazbek’s funky score provided the perfect soundscape for the down-on-their-luck group of gyrating friends. The title gives it all away to be sure but in the Broadway production even conductor Kim Grigsby got in on the act by flashing the audience at the very end of the show.
2. Nine
Well, when you’ve got a lyric like “Who’s not wearing any clothes? I’m Not!” in a song called Call to the Vatican sung by a writhing upside-down Jane Krakowski, how can the show it’s from not make the list? Based on Fellini’s film 8 1/2, the sensual musical chronicles the complicated romantic entanglements of filmmaker Guido Contini, as he navigates a classic mid-life crisis. Along with Krakowski, the much lauded 2003 revival featured Chita Rivera and Laura Benanti working their wiles on one smoldering Antonio Banderas.
1. Oh, Calcutta!
Anyone even remotely hip to the theatre scene will think one thing upon hearing the title of this apocryphal erotic revue: nudity. And apparently, audiences were here for it! The 1976 Broadway revival ran for almost 6,000 performances which has kept the risqué show among Broadway’s longest running productions. Mostly conceived as a novelty act by a theatre critic, the series of sketches and songs centered on various aspects of sex, incorporating nudity into much of the storytelling.
