Teeth | |
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![]() Poster for the 2024 Playwrights Horizons production | |
Music | Anna K. Jacobs |
Lyrics | Michael R. Jackson |
Book | Anna K. Jacobs Michael R. Jackson |
Basis | Teeth by Mitchell Lichtenstein |
Premiere | March 19, 2024 : Playwrights Horizons, New York City |
Productions |
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Teeth is a musical by Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs, adapted from the 2007 horror film of the same name. It premiered off-Broadway in 2024 at Playwrights Horizons.
The musical follows Dawn O'Keefe, an evangelical teenager, who is navigating the challenges of adolescent dating and chastity when she discovers she has teeth in her vagina.
"Pastor", the leader of a congregation in the town of Eden, leads a sermon preaching against premarital sex, following the recent case of teenage pregnancy involving Amy Sue and her boyfriend Brock. His stepdaughter, Dawn O'Keefe, leads the "Promise Keeper Girls" in reiterating their abstinence pledge, insisting that their vaginas are "a precious gift" that must be protected until marriage ("Precious Gift"). Her stepbrother, Brad, rejects both Pastor and Dawn's attempts to get him more involved in the church. He joins the Truthseekers, a virtual group of men's rights activists led by the mysterious "Godfather", and tells of an incident between him and Dawn when they were young in which he fingered her and received a cut ("Between Her Thighs"). Dawn meets with her boyfriend, Tobey, and the pair express their love for each other, with the latter claiming he loves her most for her modesty ("Modest is Hottest"). However, Dawn struggles with her temptation to break her chastity vow, as she has been taught since birth to consider her sexual urges evil ("Shame in My Body").
Pastor catches Brad masturbating upon the instructions of Godfather and beats him ("A Real Man"). Tobey meets with Dawn and reveals he is not actually a virgin as he previously had sexual intercourse with his girlfriend Denise at his previous school. Dawn, intrigued by the idea that Tobey has had sexual experiences, encourages him to share a fantasy he has of her and the two nearly consummate their relationship ("Playing With Fire"), but they are interrupted by fellow congregation member Ryan. Dawn summons the Promise Keeper Girls, who shame her, but she is defended by Ryan. The girls try to criticize Ryan as well due to him being gay: Ryan freely admits to this but claims despite his sins he is able to be born again, and they too can be forgiven for straying from the path ("Born Again"). The congregation decides to have Pastor re-baptize them in the morning. Dawn goes to Tobey to tell him of these plans, but he claims he cannot wait: they go into a lake and perform the baptism ritual themselves, before Tobey proposes to her and, in the rush of emotions, begin having sex ("When She Gave Birth"). However, Tobey starts becoming aggressive and ignores Dawn's pleas to stop. Dawn's vagina abruptly cuts off Tobey's penis and leaves him, dead, floating in the lake. Unbeknownst to Dawn, Brad witnessed everything.
The other Promise Keeper Girls have a vision of a mysterious female god, which they sense has been awakened in a vessel near to them. After Tobey's body is found, Pastor gathers the Promise Keeper Girls at the church, claiming an evil has awakened and sets off to find Dawn. The girls feel changes in their body as they sense whatever has awakened takes the form of teeth, while Brad leads the Truthseekers in believing the fall of man is upon them ("Teeth"). Ryan finds Dawn at her house while Brad and Pastor are out, and after learning what happened recommends she see a gynecologist outside of town. Dawn thinks back to her teachings and decides she, along with her late mother Kim, were punished simply for being women ("Always the Woman"). Brad confronts Dawn and tries to remind her of the incident from their childhood, but is stopped by Pastor. Before Brad leaves, he crudely tells Dawn that Pastor never had sexual intercourse with Kim — Pastor freely confesses to this, saying that Kim was "impure" because of her past ("Shame in My Body (reprise)"). Dawn elects to visit the gynecologist, Dr. Godfrey, who is initially sympathetic but reveals predatory tendencies during his examination ("Girls Like You") that result in Dawn cutting off his hand with her "teeth", causing him to bleed to death, but not before identifying her condition as vagina dentata . Dawn runs to Ryan, revealing she now remembers the incident with Brad and realizes she has had the "teeth" since birth. Ryan searches on the dark web for information on "vagina dentata". He, along with Brad and the Truthseekers, find a wiki revealing information on Dentata, an ancient goddess with teeth in her vagina. They realize that Dawn has become a vessel for Dentata, and supposedly the only way to defeat her is for a hero to have sex with her and cure her ("According to the Wiki"). Ryan reveals this to Dawn and offers to have sex with her, suggesting it will cure her of her dentition and him of his homosexuality ("I'm Your Guy"). The two have consensual sex and Dawn's "teeth" do not engage, but Ryan reveals he was secretly live-streaming the encounter to prove to the world he is no longer gay.
The trauma of her experiences finally causes Dawn to snap ("When She Gave Birth (Reprise)"), as she fully embraces the goddess Dentata's possession and seduces Ryan into having sex again before cutting off his penis. She leads the Promise Keeper Girls, now worshipers of Dentata and having grown their own "teeth", in attacking Pastor as revenge for his teachings, emasculating him. Brad declares himself the hero of the Truthseekers and that he will defeat Dawn, before killing Pastor by setting him on fire. He leads the Truthseekers in trying to fight "the feminocracy" but they all get their penises cut off by the Promise Keeper Girls ("Dentata"). Dawn and Brad face off in a final showdown, accusing each other of being their "monster" and the source of their pain before engaging in ritualistic sex ("Take Me Down (Part 1)") but Dawn emerges victorious, cutting off Brad's penis. Having taken over Eden, the Dentata worshipers promise to take over the rest of the Bible Belt and the rest of the world, threatening the audience to beware of their "teeth" ("Take Me Down (Part 2)").
Character | Playwrights Horizons [1] [2] | New World Stages [3] |
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2024 | ||
Dawn O'Keefe | Alyse Alan Louis | |
Pastor Bill O'Keefe | Steven Pasquale | Andy Karl |
Brad/Truthseeker | Will Connolly | |
Tobey/Truthseeker | Jason Gotay | |
Ryan/Truthseeker | Jared Loftin | |
Promise Keeper Girl Keke | Helen J Shen | Madison McBride |
Promise Keeper Girl Rachel | Lexi Rhoades | Micaela Lamas |
Promise Keeper Girl Stephanie | Wren Rivera | |
Promise Keeper Girl Becky | Courtney Bassett | |
Promise Keeper Girl Fiona | Phoenix Best | Sydney Parra |
Promise Keeper Girl Trisha | Jenna Rose Husli |
† Not included on the original cast recording
Though based on the 2007 film Teeth, the musical makes some adjustments to the characters, combining the roles of pastor and Dawn's stepfather, significantly altering the character of Ryan, and originating characters of the Promise Keeper Girls. The musical also originates Brad's incel storyline. [4]
Jacobs' score ranges from Christian rock to what she described as "an ancient feminine Tori Amos meets Stravinsky pagan ritual music." [5]
Versions of the show were workshopped at the Sundance Institute, Playwrights Horizons, Ars Nova, and 54 Below. [6]
The off-Broadway run entered previews at Playwrights Horizons on February 21, 2024, opening March 19 after a weeklong delay due to cast illness. [7] It was twice extended and closed April 28. [8] Sarah Benson directed and Raja Feather Kelly choreographed. [9]
An Off-Broadway commercial, open-ended transfer of the Playwrights Horizons production began preview performances at New World Stages on October 16, 2024, and officially opened on October 31. [10]
The original Off-Broadway cast recording was released digitally on July 12, 2024, with the physical release set for August 30. [11]
The New York Times theater critic Jesse Green praised Jacobs' and Jackson's "catchy pop-rock tunes with their smart, smutty rhymes," but suggested the musical's plot is contrived to fit the frame of its satirical message. [12] A Times feature on the show by journalist Erik Piepenburg called it a "feminist awakening with a lethal bite." [4] Vulture 's Sara Holdren commended the musical's use of the horror genre, juxtaposing the "fantastical" gruesomeness of the on-stage violence with the frightening realism of the ideas that underpin them. [13] For The Washington Post , Brittani Samuel lamented the power that men hold in defining Dawn's character, commenting that, "While it's all raucous, campy fun, one can’t help but crave more for our protagonist." [14]
The musical received four Drama Desk Award nominations in 2024, specifically Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Lyrics, Outstanding Book, and Outstanding Featured Actor for Steven Pasquale. [15]
Debbie Does Dallas is a 1978 American pornographic film produced and directed by Jim Clark, and starring Bambi Woods. The plot focuses on a team of cheerleaders attempting to earn enough money to send the title character to Dallas, Texas to try out for the famous "Texas Cowgirls" cheerleading squad. The fictional name "Texas Cowgirls" was seen as an allusion to the real-life Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Woods had previously tried out for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in real life, but was cut during auditions.
The missionary position or man-on-top position is a sex position in which, generally, a woman lies on her back and spreads her legs and a man lies on top of her while they face each other and engage in vaginal intercourse. The position may also be used for other sexual activity, such as anal sex. It is commonly associated with heterosexual sexual activity, but is also used by same-sex couples. It may involve sexual penetration or non-penetrative sex, and its penile-vaginal aspect is an example of ventro-ventral (front-to-front) reproductive activity. Variations of the position allow varying degrees of clitoral stimulation, depth of penetration, participation on the part of the woman, and the likelihood and speed of orgasm.
Woman on top is any sex position in which the woman is on top of her sexual partner during sexual activity. The position most commonly associated with the woman on top is often called the cowgirl or riding position, which derives its name from the image of the woman "riding" the man as a cowgirl rides a bucking horse. In that position, a man typically lies on his back with his legs closed, while the female partner straddles him, usually in a kneeling position facing either forward or back, and either the man or woman inserts the man's erect penis into the woman's vagina or anus. The cowgirl position is commonly cited as one of the more popular sex positions, especially by women, because it gives them control over the rhythm and pace of vaginal stimulation and the extent and duration of penetration and because of its ability to adequately stimulate the clitoris. There are other positions in which the woman may be on top, including the 69 position and the pompoir sex position.
Penis captivus is a supposed occurrence during human sexual intercourse when the muscles in the vagina clamp down on the penis much more firmly than usual, making it impossible for the penis to be withdrawn from the vagina. According to a 1979 article in the British Medical Journal, this condition was unknown in the twentieth century, but a subsequent letter to the same journal reported an apparent case of penis captivus in 1947. Penis captivus should not be confused with vaginismus, though a relation between the supposed event of penis captivus and the occurrence of vaginismus is assumed in the existing descriptions.
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run at the Westside Theatre. The play explores consensual and nonconsensual sexual experiences, body image, genital mutilation, direct and indirect encounters with reproduction, vaginal care, menstrual periods, prostitution, and several other topics through the eyes of women with various ages, races, sexualities, and other differences.
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work.
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An anti-rape device is one of a variety of devices invented for the purpose of preventing or deterring rape. The first such devices were the chastity belts of the 15th century. Although a number of devices have been proposed, none of them are in commercial production as of 2017.
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Teeth is a 2007 American comedy horror film written and directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein. The film stars Jess Weixler and was produced by Lichtenstein on a budget of $2 million. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2007, and received a limited release in the United States on January 18, 2008, by Roadside Attractions. Its title refers to the ancient trope of vagina dentata.
Vagina dentata is a folk tale tradition in which a vagina is said to contain teeth, with the associated implication that sexual intercourse might result in injury, emasculation, or castration. The topic of vagina dentata may also cover a rare medical condition affecting the vagina, in which case it is more accurately termed a vaginal dermoid cyst.
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A Strange Loop is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, and winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. First produced off-Broadway in 2019, then staged in Washington, D.C. in 2021, A Strange Loop premiered on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre in April 2022. The show won Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical at the 75th Tony Awards.
Anna K. Jacobs is an Australian composer, lyricist, and book writer living in Brooklyn, NY. She is best known for composing the music and co-writing the book for the musical Teeth.