Before Amy Schumer or Joan Rivers, before Roseanne Barr or The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Belle Barth was the original irreverent female comic, Queen of the Borsht Belt, deflating anyone who dares take sex too seriously.
“Raunchy Little Musical – Belle Barth is Back,” the 90-minute musical that chronicles the launch of the 50s Queen of Crass comes to the Landmark on Main Street in Port Washington on June 29 for a limited run.
Belle Barth burst on the Miami Beach scene as the “female” Lenny Bruce. The self-proclaimed founder of “Ball Breakers Anonymous,” this purveyor of dirty jokes had an attitude that made her off-limits for Ed Sullivan. In an era when “women ain’t comics,” Belle defied the odds (and her mother’s wish for her daughter to be a classical pianist) and rose to the top of a very limited genre of performers who played to sold-out club audiences from Miami to Chicago, New York to Vegas to LA.
Belle topped the charts of the Adult Only record section, the forbidden fruit of the 50s, with 3 million of her “party records” serving as sex education for today’s baby boomers. In 1953, she was arrested and fined $25 for her act; several other cases against her were thrown out of court, including one lawsuit for $1.6 million, brought by two schoolteachers who claimed that Barth’s act had corrupted them morally and harmed their health.
Her greatest coup was also her demise when, on her booking at the “classy” Carnegie Hall with her proud mother and Walter Winchell in the third row, the sold-out house turned on her when she was forced to wrangle the raunch to placate the building’s management, or not take the stage.
“Raunchy Little Musical” is an evening with this bold pioneer of edgy comedy peppered with plenty of Belle Barth’s original jokes. Married five times, Belle was always in search of a man like her father who inspired her to be somebody. Poignant moments from her private life and loves emerge — as well as high and low comedy.
Original songs by Grammy-nominated composer Ilya Levinson with lyrics by Owen Kalt, the book of “Raunchy Little Musical” was penned by Joanne Koch, author of the Off-Broadway hit Sophie, Totie & Belle. Nationally known actor/singer/comedienne, Sara DelBeato grabs Belle’s character by…well, you know!
“Raunchy Little Musical – Belle Barth is Back” plays June 29 to July 22 at the Landmark On Main Street, 232 Main Street, Port Washington NY 11050. The show runs Wednesday to Sunday. Matinees are at 2 p.m. and evening shows at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are priced from $37- $54. For tickets: 212-868-4444 or www.landmarkonmainstreet.org. For show information: www.raunchylittlemusical.com
NOTE: For Mature Audiences
