Line #1 Radar/Theatre


1	[[index]]
2	* Radar/{{Hairspray}}
3	* Radar/IntoTheWoods
4	[[/index]]
5	----
6
7	* [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]] is a master of this. For all the high-brow main story, he was always certain to put in plenty of lower-class pleasing vulgarities throughout all of his plays.
8	** ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' contains the following exchange during Act III Scene II:
9	--->'''Hamlet:''' Lady, shall I lie in your lap?\
10	'''Ophelia:''' No, my lord.\
11	'''Hamlet:''' I mean, my head upon your lap?\
12	'''Ophelia:''' Ay, my lord.\
13	'''Hamlet:''' Do you think I meant [[CountryMatters country matters]]?
14	** The lines immediately following that show off a very popular euphemism at the time.
15	--->'''Ophelia:''' I think nothing, my lord.\
16	'''Hamlet:''' That's a fair thought to lie between maids' legs.\
17	'''Ophelia:''' What is, my lord?\
18	'''Hamlet:''' Nothing.
19	** At one point, Hamlet refers to Ophelia as being "fine kissing carrion" ''in front of her own father''. He doesn't pick up on it, also making it an in-universe example.
20	** "The king is a thing" - or in plain English, "the king is a dick".
21	** The title of ''Theatre/MuchAdoAboutNothing'' takes on a very different meaning once you realize that "nothing" was slang for female genitalia in Shakespeare's time.
22	*** The title character in ''Theatre/RichardIII'' uses this to have some fun with the hapless Brackenbury, concerning the king's mistress, Jane Shore:
23	--->GLOUCESTER:We say that Shore's wife hath a pretty foot, A cherry lip, a bonny eye, a passing pleasing tongue; And that the queen's kindred are made gentle-folks: How say you sir? Can you deny all this?\
24	BRACKENBURY: With this, my lord, myself have nought to do.\
25	GLOUCESTER: Naught to do with mistress Shore! I tell thee, fellow, He that doth naught with her, excepting one, Were best he do it secretly, alone.\
26	BRACKENBURY: What one, my lord?\
27	GLOUCESTER: Her husband, knave! Wouldst thou betray me?
28	** How about a child Juliet falling and bumping her head, whereas if she were an adult, she would have known to fall on her back?
29	** The first two minutes of ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' are a series of {{Double Entendre}}s, designed to catch the attention of the peasants watching. In case you'd forgotten, [[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet check it out.]]
30	** In Shakespeare's time, "to die" was an accepted entendre for "to have an orgasm" (based off of the French term ''la petite mort''). Now go back and re-read Juliet's impassioned speech to her mother where she states that her dearest desire is to "behold Romeo dead" and realize what she's ''really'' hoping for.
31	** The nurse on the morning Juliet is to be married to Paris tells her to get her rest now, because once she's married to Paris [[InsatiableNewlyweds she won't be allowed to sleep at all]].
32	** ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'': [[DoubleEntendre "What, with my tongue in your tail?"]]
33	** His "GetTheeToANunnery" line is a trope unto itself.
34	** ''Theatre/AntonyAndCleopatra'' is a nonstop string of raunch.
35	--->'''Cleopatra:''' Stands he, or sits he, or does he ride upon his horse? O happy horse, to bear the weight of Antony!
36	** ''Theatre/TitusAndronicus'' has this exchange with Aaron the Moor and Chiron.
37	--->'''Chiron:''' Villain, thou hast undone our mother.
38	--->'''Aaron:''' Villain, I have done thy mother.
39	** ''Theatre/TheComedyOfErrors'' is another smut-packed classic. Take careful note of the scene where Dromio of Syracuse discusses the kitchen servant Luce.
40	** In ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'': "an old black ram is tupping your white ewe," and the now-classic "your daughter and the Moor are making the beast with two backs."
41	** [[MrExposition The Prologue]] to ''Theatre/HenryV'' explicitly calls the theatre a ''[[UnusualEuphemism cock-pit]]'' while heavily implying that if the audience [[MrImagination uses their imagination]] that the play will be better than sex.
42	*** Actually, this doesn't have to be taken in the wrong sense. Shakespeare's theater, The Globe, actually had three uses, as back in his time theaters were not allowed to be just theaters. On side of The Globe was a bear-baiting ring, where men would bet on how many dogs would be killed before the bear was fallen. The other side was a cock-fighting ring. So, this could also be a breaking the fourth wall at his audience about the Globe.
43	*** Katherine's French dialogue is pretty ribald.
44	*** By the time ''Theatre/KingLear'' came out, Elizabethan theater forbid the use of God's name on the stage. And yet, Shakespeare managed to put in a lot of religious themes in the play, to the point of even paraphrasing Scripture. (I.e. "O dear father, it's thy business that I go about" paraphrases "I must be about my father's business.")
45	** Not to mention Mercutio's little story in ''Romeo and Juliet''.
46	** And then there's Malvolio in ''Theatre/TwelfthNight'' when he looks over the Countess's letter and exults her handwriting, how "these be her very Cs, her Us, ''and'' her Ts, and thus she makes her great Ps."
47	** And then there's [[Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream Helena's]] line "I am your spaniel, Demetrius, and the more you beat me the more I will fawn on you." People have a hard time coming up with a way of interpreting that that doesn't involve both fursuits and chains...
48	** [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/mar/26/arts.rscscompleteworks It looks like this is the logical conclusion.]]
49	** How about in Act I of ''Theatre/AsYouLikeIt'', when Celia mentions her and Rosalind having "slept together"? It may seem like an AccidentalInnuendo, but given that this connotation of "sleeping" has been around for some time, and given Shakespeare's sense of humor in his comedies ... it's certainly possible he was joking [[IncestSubtext that Celia and Rosalind]] [[HomoeroticSubtext knew each other]] ''that'' well.
50	** Even ''Theatre/RichardII'' -- oft reputed as one of Shakespeare's chastest plays -- has a little bawdy humor, not exactly buried but seemingly innocent enough to make the reader fear they have a dirty mind. ("Dangling apricocks" in the garden scene, in a scene rife with imagery regarding [[HoYay Richard's parasitic favorites]].)
51	** Of course, Shakespeare didn't really have a radar to get crap past, besides the Master of Revels, who only raised eyebrows about politics and religion. Many shows were openly bawdy. [[JustifiedTrope And with as many sexual slang terms as there were in Shakespeare's era, some say it's effectively impossible to speak a decently-sized sentence of early modern English without saying at least three vulgar euphemisms.]]
52	* Creator/OscarWilde's play ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest'' features this gem:
53	-->'''Lady Bracknell:''' May I ask what position [Miss Prism] holds in your household?\
54	'''Rev. Canon Chasuble:''' I am a [[CelibateHero celibate]], madam.
55	* Probably the current king of this in American musical theater goes to the Broadway Production of ''Theatre/BillyElliot.'' At the 2009 Tony Awards, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH77znuqzk0 selection they showed from the show]] (which was [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome amazing, by the way]]) featured several instances of Billy making an obscene hand gesture. To Americans, it looks like he's holding out the number two a lot with his hand - but it's the British equivalent of an extended middle finger. But because that same gesture is so meaningless to Americans, the censor let a ten-year-old boy flip the bird repeatedly on national TV in Prime Time. Pretty audacious.
56	* In ''Theatre/{{Thirteen}}'', During the song "Getting Ready" Lucy and Kendra share [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoRJIbOtLGg an exchange]] where Lucy tells Kendra she shouldn't french kiss Brett because she's a good girl. But there are moments where it doesn't sound like they're talking about kissing
57	** And then there's this little gem...
58	--->'''Kendra''': My mom says that pretending that you like it prepares you for marriage.
59	*** [[SarcasmMode Hm... wonder what she's talking about]]
60	** One actor in the production mentioned that changing the words "The Tongue" to "The Sex" every time it comes up is all that would be needed to change the show to ''19: The Musical.'' [[FridgeBrilliance He's totally right.]]
61	* The blocking for "Music of the Night" in ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' contains a moment where Christine gets really close to the Phantom, then darts away suddenly. While this could easily be interpreted as a result of her shyness and uncertainty, at least one member of the creative team (choreographer Creator/GillianLynne, IIRC) has claimed Christine was startled by brushing against the Phantom's, er, non-musical organ.
62	** The lyrics themselves are this trope. It's easy to tell that when he's singing about all the things his music will do to Christine, he's really referring to himself.
63	*** An earlier draft of the song (which was featured in a preview staging of the first act) was even worse, with lines like "Measure after measure/An instrument of pleasure." Try singing ''that'' with a straight face.
64	*** There's also the vague possibility that he rapes her after she faints at the conclusion of "Music of the Night".
65	* Fame: The Musical - to the point that, when buying the performance rights, the publishing company has a list of lines and even A SONG that can be cut if it's too blatant for the group performing it.
66	** [[SomethingElseAlsoRises "Can't Keep It Down"]], the song about inappropriate boners at funerals, lusting after your cousin, and masturbating to your Playboy Calendar. It's a damn shame if it's cut - it's easily a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment\|s}}.
67	* One dedicated fan compiled a [[http://www.beeptwo.com/pearls/double.html list]] of all the train-related sexual references in ''Theatre/StarlightExpress''. (The provided link automatically redirects to the main page, but the list is easily identifiable under the "Humour" section of "Fan Activity.")
68	** In particular, the song "A Lotta Locomotion", which introduces the carriages, is full of euphanisms.
69	** The SpellingSong "U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D." is about Dinah's breakup/"uncoupling" with Greaseball, which she can't bring herself to say so she spells it instead. The last verse takes this opportunity to sneak in a swear word by spelling it too:
70
71	---> And I'm just U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.\
72	But I'll get my R.E.V.E.N.G.E.\
73	He'll come crawling back one day\
74	And I'll turn to him and say:\
75	"Go away, you B.A.S.T.A.R.D."
76
77	* ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'':
78	** ''Wicked'' got away with an obvious lesbian romance by just slapping the word [[PseudoRomanticFriendship "friendship"]] on it. It also got away with [[BuryYourGays killing one of them]]. [[spoiler:Or not]]. Doesn't help when many of the cast members ([[WordOfGay and the Maguire himself]]) have said that if things had gone differently, Elphaba and Glinda would have fallen in love.
79	** There's also the ''straight'' love duet, which has lines like [[IntercourseWithYou "I'll wake up my body / and make up for lost time,"]] and a seductive, "For the first time, I feel... ''wicked.''" They never go out and say [[spoiler: "Elphaba and Fiyero slept together,"]] but it's subtly blatant. ...If that makes any sense.
80	** Elphaba's mother Melena was DemotedToExtra and only appears in a few unnamed lines. In "No One Mourns The Wicked", we see the portion where she cheats on her husband and [[SlippingAMickey is given an elixir]]. In the [[Literature/{{Wicked}} original book]], it's clear that Elphaba was a ChildByRape and her mother didn't even remember the encounter. The musical makes it more ambiguous if [[AdaptationalConsent the elixir drugged Melena or not]], but it's quite possible she was.
81	* ''Theatre/{{Arcadia}}'' raised this to an art form.
82	** The play opens with Septimus being forced to uncomfortably define "carnal embrace" to Thomasina. He tells her the biological processes instead of the details she wants to hear.
83	*** Not to mention his initial response: "It is the act of throwing one's arms around a side of beef."
84	** Mr. Chater writes poem called "The Couch of Eros" that is implied to be PornWithoutPlot.
85	** Mrs. Chater and Septimus have a "[[SexualEuphemism poke]]" in the gazebo which Mr. Noakes [[AccidentalPervert accidentally sees through his spyglass]], not to mention her ''other'' affair with Lord Byron.
86	** At one point, Count Zelinsky and Lady Croom are in a piano room offstage. Pleasant piano music is heard, followed by some heavy pounding on the keys, and Lady Croom comes onstage giggling and looking rather flustered. Septimus has to stop himself from asking if [[DidYouJustHaveSex she just had sex on the piano.]]
87	** Septimus tells Lady Croom he was "alone with my thoughts" in the gazebo, implying he was thinking of her, specifically.
88	** A drunk Bernard announces to everyone at the end of the play that he and Chloe slept together.
89	** Thomasina invites Septimus up to her room at the end of the play for some candle-lit fun. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, he never shows, and the candle falls over and burns down the house, killing Thomasina.]]
90	* In ''Theatre/WestSideStory'', in the song "Officer Krupke", one of the Jets pretends to be a HerrDoktor psychiatrist and diagnoses his friends with a social disease.
91	** The last line of the song is, "Gee, Officer Krupke, krup you!"
92	** Which in [[Music/StephenSondheim Sondheim's]] original lyrics was indeed a gigantic F-bomb.
93	* ''Theatre/{{Aida\|JohnRice}}'': After bringing the captive Aida to his room, Radames removes his shirt, asking her "Do you know what's going to happen now?" Her fearful reaction indicates that she thinks he's about to force himself on her. Instead, he orders her to wash his back, something that essentially symbolizes exactly that.
94	** He later tells her that "I could have your affection right now if I commanded it". It's pretty clear in context what "affection" actually means.
95	* ''Theatre/AnythingGoes'' is the KING of this trope, especially the title song, which mentions orgies, strippers, jigolos, whores, prostitutes, OLD prostitutes, molestation, nudist parties, divorce, and make-up sex.
96	** And this exchange from Moonface and Bonnie:
97	--> '''Moon:''' Do you suppose you could get me a sailor suit?
98	--> '''Bonnie:''' Sure! I can get you a sailor suit, he's still asleep!
99	* ''Theatre/UnderMilkWood'' by Creator/DylanThomas is set in the fictional village of Llareggub (pronounced Khlar - regg - ib). This looks like a real Welsh place name to the untrained eye, but try reading it backwards ...
100	* Creator/GilbertAndSullivan managed to sneak this gem into the Act I finale of ''Theatre/{{Iolanthe}}'':
101	-->'''Iolanthe''': ''(to Strephon)'' When tempest wreck thy bark / And all is drear and dark / If thou shouldst need an ark / I'll give thee one.
102	-->'''Phyllis''': ''(to Lord Tolloller, hiding nearby)'' What was that?
103	-->'''Lord Tolloller''': I heard the minx remark / She'd meet him after dark / Inside St. James's Park / And give him one!
104	** ''Theatre/TheMikado'' was deliberately [[HollywoodMedievalJapan set in feudal Japan]] to mask its satirical skewering of Victorian Britain's political institutions.
105	* ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix'', the musical about the Declaration of Independence, has several double and ''single'' entendres:
106	** There's also:
107	-->'''Lee:''' I'll just stop off in Stratford long enough to refresh the missus...
108	** Or this one:
109	-->'''Jefferson(VA)''': And tonight, I'm leaving for home.\
110	'''Hancock(Pres)''': On business?\
111	'''Jefferson(VA)''': Family business.\
112	'''Hopkins(RI)''': Give'r a flourish for me, young feller!
113	** And then these lyrics from "But, Mr. Adams":
114	-->'''Adams''': Mr. Jefferson -- ''dear'' Mr. Jefferson --\
115	I'm only forty-one, I still have my virility,\
116	And I can romp through Cupid's grove with great agility,\
117	But life is more than sexual combustibility!\
118	'''Glee Club:''' BUSTABILITY! BUSTABILITY! COM-BUST-A-BIL-A-- [insert BigShutUp from Adams]
119	* In ''Theatre/PokemonLive'', one of Ash's happy memories in the finale is of the banned bikini episode.
120	** After being slapped around by a bunch of girls, Brock remarks that he liked it and it made him tingle.
121	** As Giovanni and Delia talk, he says he has fond memories of their early days while fiddling with the lock on her cage.
122	* ''Theatre/WhyMarry'' has some pretty suggestive dialogue for 1917, like when Jean tells Rex that she's still a virgin, but she has let men feel her up.
123	--> "Oh, I've merely been handled, not hurt. Slightly shop-worn but as good as new."
124	* ''Theatre/TheRoseTattoo'' has astonishingly strong sexual content by the standards of the early 1950s, even taking into account that American stage censorship was not particularly strong back then. One of the most risqué bits is the moment where Alvaro, busily RomancingTheWidow, puts his hands into his pockets and accidentally lets a condom fall out; the stage directions, like the characters, are too embarrassed to call it for what it is. Serafina's lovemaking is very audible, albeit offstage, in the next scene; her daughter thinks she's only dreaming of her late husband.
125	* ''Theatre/TheWiz Live'' television version was rated TV-G yet featured minor curses several times.
126	* In ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', when Hamilton first meets Angelica he makes a comment about how she seems to be like him - never satisfied with where she is, always fighting for more. Except, the way he says it implies something rather different, and from her reaction Angelica certainly takes it that way at first. (Interestingly, this exchange did also happen in real life, although there it was Angelica who was providing the innuendo.)
127	-->'''Hamilton:''' You strike me as a woman who has never been satisfied.
128	-->'''Angelica:''' I'm sure I don't know what you mean, you forget yourself...
129	* "Never Be an Artist" from ''Can-Can'' includes the line "You can give to or get from a chick what you please."
130	* "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" from ''Pal Joey'' includes the lines "Horizontally speaking, he's at his very best" and "Thank God, I can be oversexed again."

Context Radar / Theatre