HOLLYWOOD—After tonight's performance of The Deep Throat Sex Scandal, a memorial will be held for the adult actor on whom the play's main character is based, the late Harry Reems.
The Deep Throat Sex Scandal is the true story of Herbert Streicher, who became Harry Reems, and his legendary co-star Linda Lovelace. The play follows the strange and bizarre journey of the creation of the movie, its impact on audiences (it is said to have grossed more than $600 million, and based on how much it cost to make, is possibly the most profitable movie of all time) and on films and American culture is told along with the subsequent raids, arrests and banning of the film.
In the second act, the play then becomes Reems’ personal story, about how the actor himself was put on trial for obscenity—and not the director, producer, or distributor. The trial stands as one of the great battles against censorship in modern American history, taken up by Alan Dershowitz, helping to expand the career of one of America’s best-known attorneys. At the time, Hollywood stars such as Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson rallied against the censorship of Deep Throat and came to Reems’ defense, fearing that the U.S. government would censor mainstream films next, once it got a taste of banning films for their content.
All this and more will be the subjects of tonight's Dr. Susan Block Show, which will broadcast live from the Zephyr Theater, where The Deep Throat Sex Scandal is now completing its eighth week to near-sellout crowds. The show is currently scheduled to run through April 14.
"Perhaps the most exciting, amusing and culturally meaningful offering in the current crop of Deep Throat docudramas and spin-offs is not another film, but a play, The Deep Throat Sex Scandal," said Dr. Susan Block of the hit play, now running in Hollywood in its West Coast premiere.
This Saturday, March 23, 2013, The Dr. Susan Block Show will broadcast live on location from The Deep Throat Sex Scandal, the delightful, critically acclaimed play by David Bertolino about the making of the notorious, groundbreaking 1970s porn film Deep Throat and the subsequent controversies it ignited. The play, which this week features popular (though retired) adult actress Melissa Hill, is scheduled to run through April 14, with more guest stars to be announced in the near future.
Joining internationally-known sexologist Dr. Susan Block live on the air from the Zephyr Theater in West Hollywood right after the play will be Deep Throat Sex Scandal cast and crew, including Natasha Parker (Linda Lovelace in the play), Marc Ginsburg (Harry Reems), plus veteran adult film stars Nina Hartley, Tom Byron, Hyapatia Lee, Ron Jeremy (recently released from Cedars-Sinai after emergency heart surgery and now doing much better!), Paul Thomas, Rebecca Bardoux, Veronica Hart, Alana Evans, Bill Margold and Herschel Savage, producer/writer Bertolino and director Jerry Douglas. Also joining the panel will be sexologist Yasi Madanikia, Paulina Li and more to be announced.
RSVP for the Dr. Susan Block Show here or call 213-670-0066. The broadcast will start at 10:30, with an after-party beginning at midnight.
"Ingeniously, the play has the character of Harry Reems, not the more sensational Linda Lovelace, tell its main story," Dr. Block pointed out. "Though also telling Lovelace’s disturbing tale, with the ambivalence and complexity it deserves, its main narrative is that of Reems, this wannabe actor/porn star/everyman who very nearly got sent to prison for a very long time for nothing more than receiving a consensual, on-set blowjob. This was the first time that an actor had been prosecuted by the federal government on obscenity charges. As Harry’s tale, it is a quintessentially American story about the long, hard, ongoing fight for our First Amendment rights against the nefarious, well-funded forces of Puritanical hypocrisy, and it’s just as relevant as ever. I highly recommend it to all my readers, viewers, listeners, friends and family… if your family can handle it!"
AVN reviewed The Deep Throat Sex Scandal here.
Harry Reems' obituary can be found here.
Get your Deep Throat Sex Scandal tickets here or call 800-838-3006. Also, "Guilty Pleasures" tickets for this Saturday’s show have been reduced from $90 to $29 if purchased through Goldstar.com here. The Guilty Pleasures package includes the open wine bar and Hustler Superstore Goody Bags and a show poster!
Dr. Block’s "Deep Throat Sex Scandal Night" will air live March 23, 2013, 10:30pm-Midnight PST on The Dr. Susan Block Show. Listen free on RadioSUZY1 and see the free pix from opening night of The Deep Throat Sex Scandal at the Zephyr Theater, 7456 Melrose Avenue, and read the blog/review.
