Andy Warhol's Pork

Andy Warhol's Pork (also known as Pork) is a 1971 play by Andy Warhol. It was directed by Anthony Ingrassia, produced by Ira Gale, and stage-managed by Leee Black Childers. ^{[1] [2]}

Pork opened on May 5, 1971, at La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York City for a two-week run. ^[3] It was brought to the Roundhouse in London for a six-week run in August 1971. ^[4] The production was controversial due to the nudity and simulated sexual acts performed. In London, actress Geri Miller caused a scandal when she was arrested for exposing her breast during a photo session in front of Clarence House, the residence of the Queen Mother. ^{[5] [6]}

Musician David Bowie was a fan of the play, and he later hired several of the Pork cast members to join his management firm MainMan. ^{[7] [8]}

Synopsis

Pork was based on tape-recorded conversations between Brigid Berlin and Warhol during which Brigid would play for Warhol tapes she had made of phone conversations between herself and her mother, socialite Honey Berlin. ^[9]

The play featured Jayne County as "Vulva," Cherry Vanilla as "Amanda Pork," Tony Zanetta as a Warhol-analogue called B. Marlowe, Geri Miller as Josie, Cleve Roller, Julia Breck, and Suzanne Smith. ^{[10] [3] [11] [12]} Other cast members included the "Pepsodent Twins" who represented Warhol's boyfriend Jed Johnson and his twin brother, Jay Johnson. ^{[13] [14]}

According to a review of the London production, "[Amanda] Pork is estranged from her husband and attended by the Pepsodent twins, two boys alike only in their nudity and their pastel powdered genitals." ^[15]

Critical reception

Reviewing Pork for The New York Times , journalist Grace Glueck wrote, "All in all, it's a cozy bunch; take out the fornication, masturbation, defecation and prevarication with which 'Pork' is larded and you might have a certain similarity to the juvenile gang in 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.'" ^[3]

The British press panned the play. ^[16] Journalist Valerie Jenkins wrote for the Evening Standard that "Pork's redeeming essence is that it finds itself so ridiculous; from start to finish it demands not to be taken seriously; it's Warhol people debunking themselves." ^[17]

Left to right: Dana Gillespie, Tony Defries and David Bowie at Pork at London's Roundhouse in 1971.

Musician David Bowie was a fan of the play, and he was influenced by the London production. ^{[18] [19]} He later hired several of the Pork cast members to join his management firm MainMan. ^[8] In an interview with William S. Burroughs published in the February 28, 1974 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, Bowie stated:

Remember Pork? I want to get that on TV. TV has eaten up everything else, and Warhol films are all that is left, which is fabulous. Pork could become the next I Love Lucy , the great American domestic comedy. It's about how people really live, not like Lucy, who never touched dishwater. It's about people living and hustling to survive. That's what Pork is all about. A smashing of the spectacle. ^[20]

References

1. "Leee Black Childers Chronicler Of Drag Queens And Punks Dies". Artlyst. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
2. Auslander, Philip, 1956- (2006). Performing glam rock : gender and theatricality in popular music. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press. p. 121. ISBN   0-472-09868-3. OCLC   60743181.
3. Glueck, Grace (May 23, 1971). "'Pork' Is Not The Kosher-est Show in Town". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 30, 2020.
4. Lokke, Geoffrey (January 1, 2019). "The Theatre of Andy Warhol: Pork in New York and London". PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art. 41 (1): 54–75. doi:10.1162/pajj_a_00452. ISSN   1520-281X. S2CID   59337107.
5. McNeil, Legs; McCain, Gillian (January 28, 2014). Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. Grove/Atlantic, Inc. ISBN   978-0-8021-9276-9.
6. Matlock, Glen (February 20, 2024). Triggers: A Life In Music. Simon and Schuster. p. 30. ISBN   979-8-88674-181-0.
7. Weiss, Curt (September 2017). Stranded in the jungle : Jerry Nolan's wild ride--a tale of drugs, fashion, the New York Dolls, and punk rock. Milwaukee, WI. ISBN   978-1-5400-0493-2. OCLC   1031401746.
8. Development, PodBean. "Tony Zanetta - talking Andy Warhol, David Bowie, Pork & much much more". www.c86show.org. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
9. "Andy Warhol's PORK - Roundhouse - Celebrating 50 Years". 50.roundhouse.org.uk. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
10. "Talk on the Wild Side: The Effect of Andy Warhol's PORK on the evolution of Glitter, Glam and Punk Rock". warhol.org. Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
11. "Reportage photo of Geri Miller as Josie, PORK by Andy Warhol, Roundhouse... 03..." Report digital. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
12. "Obituary: Julia Breck – TV and stage comedy actor who was a favourite of Spike Milligan". The Stage. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
13. County, Jayne; Smith, Rupert (1995). Man Enough to be a Woman. London; New York: Serpent's Tail. p. 76. ISBN   978-1-85242-338-4.
14. Bockris, Victor (1989). The life and death of Andy Warhol. New York: Bantam Books. p. 263. ISBN   978-0-553-05708-9.
15. "1971-05-09". White Crane Institute. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
16. Jenour, Kenelm (August 3, 1971). "Sex Show 'Pork' Is The Top Of The Flops". Daily Mirror. p. 9. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
17. Jenkins, Valerie (August 3, 1971). "Valerie Jenkins at the Round House". Evening Standard. p. 13. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
18. Reed, Katherine (December 15, 2022). David Bowie and the Moving Image: A Standing Cinema. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 28. ISBN   978-1-5013-7127-1.
19. Popoff, Martin (September 17, 2024). David Bowie: Rock 'n' Roll Chameleon. Motorbooks. p. 32. ISBN   978-0-7603-8936-2.
20. Copetas, Craig (February 28, 1974). "Beat Godfather Meets Glitter Mainman: William Burroughs Interviews David Bowie". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 27, 2025.