Zut Suit Riot

When I saw The Soup Show — the latest full-length offering from The New York Neo-Futurists, whose show Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind I see every few weeks — I knew that I would get to know the three writer-actresses intimately (they’re naked, after all) and that it would be an emotional journey about womanhood and feminism. I didn’t guess that it would be so damn funny, too.

Framed as a sort of circus sideshow and using the trope of freaks to unpack and emphasize female hang-ups, insecurities, and goals, the show is less of a show and more of an extended conversation. Desiree Burch, Cara Francis, and Erica Livingston bask in a hot tub brimming with a self-made soup that keeps evolving over the course of the show — anecdotes necessitate adding anything from sliced veggies to soda to Lysol. They then bottle that liquid and hand it out to audience members as cures for emptiness, desire for a mate, and more.

The narrative spans the traditional Maiden-Mother-Crone evolution, with the performers presenting their own experiences as indicative of each of these formative stages. You see sexualized dances, original songs, faux-cooking shows and pageants, heartbreaking confessions about sexual missteps — and you’re invited to interact as well. It would be easy to write off their nudity or even attempt to objectify them, but you’re invited instead to see their bodies as pieces of art, their minds as sharp machines, their words pulsing with life.

As I said above, these women know how to utilize humor to get their point across, and they don’t pull punches when it comes to that singular bonding experience, trading misogynistic jokes. Their pleas and teases for one another are imbued with warmth and sarcasm, speaking to the organic and collaborative process of compiling this show. To show that this conversation is not just in their heads, they also reference thirty-odd hours of interview with anonymous subjects (male and female) on questions like “What is your favorite thing about women?”

Because this is a no-holds-barred commentary on female sexuality, there are certainly some graphic moments, including frank discussion about our role in sex, and about women’s inherent need to “cleanse” their bodies inside and out. Perhaps because I’m a girl and used to having discussions about orgasms and douching, I was less surprised, but the men in the audience were equally respectful. Lauren Sharpe’s direction ensures that while each of the women’s voices rings out in certain segments, the show still possesses a cohesive tone and really emphasizes the body in the performers’ constant movement (both in and out of the tub) and dances.

My full-length interview feature with the ladies will be available in print and online through WSN next week; I’ll put up the link then. But I wanted to get my thoughts down so that you guys have a chance to see the show before it ends on March 27. Wednesdays are spin-the-wheel discount night — meaning, you pay from $11-$18. Plus, if you want to arrange a talkback after the show, then e-mail cara@nynf.org. I definitely recommend that option — I had a wonderful interview with the ladies, which brought to light several themes and moments I hadn’t recognized because I was so firmly in the show at the time.

The show goes Wednesday through Sunday til the 27th, so don’t miss out. You can buy tickets here.