The Passions According to the Gospel of Oscar Wilde
A Musical Comedy
Scene 1: On Aging
A young man prowls for bears of various types: cuddly teddy bears, rare brown and black bears, fierce grizzly bears and white polar bears, concluding, with Wilde, that It is good when love from an elder derives, "for I delight in men over 70; they offer devotion for the rest of their lives."
An older man warns that age is no guarantee of wisdom, for "experience is simply the name we give to all of our mistakes." He suggests it is good to retain youthful sponteneity as long as possible and follow life's aim which is to "always look for temptations; for their are not nearly enough"
A friend disagrees with this flippant wit, but the older man counter-argues that we need to lighten up. He suggests we follow Wilde in keeping someone else's diary so we don't see life too grimly.
The satirical story of a friend serves as an example (click here to listen to Dennis Werner sing this ballad).
Scene 2. On Beauty
Young men prepare themselves to go out, doing their best to make themselves handsome, even if this means cheating by padding shoulders, etc.. After all, "art is a gallant attempt to teach nature her place."
Since most of our lives are spent on shallow relationships, just how we present ourselves on the surface is central to our being, but "people today are so superficial that they don't understand the philosophy of the superficial." Since peace is worth more than truth, style means bringing a smile to all we encounter.
Since "a mask tells us more than a face.", " It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearance."
Scene 3. On Heteros
A man comments on his experience at the gym. Despite his efforts at building muscles, his body keeps slowing. "The only way to get back your youth is to repeat your follies," -- maybe not a very good idea.
A man describes the male heterosexual he lives with and his sloppy ways, which are part of his attraction, since "it is one's most glaring fault that is one's most important virtue"
Um grupo de jovens busca bofes de todos os tipos, pois "uma paixão exagerada é o segredo para ficar jovem." (click here to listen to this song.)
Um homem hetero descreve os diferentes tipos de mulher que gosta, mas "a felicidade de um homem casado não depende da mulher amada. Depende também da mulher do lado." e de um viado que adora uma mamada.
The more moralistic young man tries to show that gays do not need to fear toughs as long as they don't provoke them with a gesture, a quip or a flirt, and tries to demonstrate this. The others comment that "whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest of motives," and "there is no sin but stupidity." They call an ambulance.
Scene 4. On Sorrow
Our daring young moralist in the hospital. His visitor comments that "all sympathize with the suffering of a friend. But only fine natures sympathize with success." The victim recognizes he has been silly, for "when the gods wish to punish they answer our prayer."
After all, "life is never fair, and pehaps it is good that it is not." He suggests that "crime is to the lower orders, what art is to us -- a method for procuring extraordinary sensations."
The incident makes him rethink things, concluding that "the secret of life is to take things very easily", and to be less judgmental since "selfishness is not living as one wishes to live. It is asking for others to live as one lives."