Fat Asses, The Musical, at Theater for the New City

It would never have occurred to me that anyone would write let alone produce a musical about the form of vicious discrimination commonly referred to as fat shaming but they did and not only that but it's been performed to packed houses, over and over and it is now a cult, part of the established repertoire of established off off off Broadway, which is the next step above the Fringe, where anything goes.

It's quite refreshing that a play which so obviously ignores the tedious restrictions of the politically - correct theatre going society of New York, or anywhere else, has escaped much of the critical commentary it might attract had it not so clearly reviewed the matter of being fat from the point of view of those most immediately affected.

The plot is fairly straightforward: three friends are expelled as failures from a weight loss center (named Excess Baggage) which is owned by the prevailing fashion magazine ("Gaunt"), so they team up with a politically radical, butch lesbian with sociopathic and indiscriminately violent tendencies to lay siege to the "Gaunt" establishment, and most particularly to its managing editor - who naturally bears no resemblance, deliberately or coincidentally, to anyone who might immediately come to mind. All of the successful aspects of a hit musical are vibrantly present: hilarious script, bouncy, memorable tunes, fast pace, attractive, complex heroine (fat) characters, evil, complex, (thin) villains, conveniently packaged stereotypes (butch lesbians and gun toting men) the support of Actors Equity and a track record of success.

Only one actor wore a "fat" suit and the writer, Peter Zachari, is himself someone who might identify as being of ample girth, and there is no question that the play sets out to reclaim the means by which thin, mostly white, people choose to objectify and alienate those who do not look or behave like them. It is undoubtedly satire, irony, parody, and it self reflectively sends up every shibboleth imaginable. The satirical intention is not only obvious but much reinforced with every punchline about french fries, every tilt at waistline measurements, every rousing, sardonic chorus of hilarious hate jokes and each well-ridden cliche about non-heterosexual people.

The problem is, despite all intentions, the performance was also an evening of jolly musical fat fun about fat women, the thrill of violence and relentless mockery of lesbian and gay stereotypes, and it was was evidently enjoyed to the maximum by an audience of (predominantly) thin white people. Who knows how many of us left the theatre feeling more uplifted by the endorphins aroused by having had a good laugh at the expense of so many others rather than burdened by the weight of the ghastliness of fat shaming? The dividing line seemed barely evident, which is probably why this musical is such a success and also why it remains on off off off off Broadway, where anything goes.