{image1}Word on the street is that "Penis" is the new "Vagina." Perhaps it stands to reason that after the runaway success of "The Vagina Monologues," a couple of Aussie blokes would spring into action and explore ways to pump up the male genitalia.
"Puppetry of the Penis," which comes to Milwaukee's Miramar Theatre, Tues., April 13 for a limited run, was the brainchild of Simon Morley, who in 1996 cooked up an art calendar showcasing art installations that featured the penis.
Morley then decided to release his "Puppetry of the Penis" show on an unsuspecting Australian public. Along with partner David Friend, Morley debuted "Penis" at the 1998 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
A national tour, successful runs in Sydney and Melbourne and a smash appearance at Edinburgh's Fringe Festival in 2000, cemented the show's success. It has since been an Off-Broadway hit in New York and has sold out in London, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto and Minneapolis.
It has also opened in France, Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland and Ireland and is taking America by storm.
The creators of "Penis" describe it best:
"('Penis') begins where 'The Full Monty' ends; with two naked penis puppeteers on stage presenting the ancient Australian art of genital origami with an astounding and outstanding series of penis installations. Requiring astonishing stamina, an unbelievable stretch factor and an amazing level of testicular fortitude, 'Puppetry of the Penis' leaves women and men gasping.
"More than 40 heroic and hilarious installations are presented, including crowd pleasers, tourist attractions and food products like The Pelican, The Windsurfer, The Eiffel Tower, the Loch Ness Monster and their signature creation, the Hamburger."
Of course, the show doesn't only have brief nudity, it has no briefs and all nudity, so adult discretion is advised.
For more information on the show, visit www.puppetryofthepenis.com. The Miramar Theatre is located at 2844 N. Oakland Ave.; call (414) 967-0302 for ticket information.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
