(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- The legendary filmmaker, John Waters, will bring his critically acclaimed one-man show, "A John Waters Christmas: Holier & Dirtier" to the House of Independents in Asbury Park on Monday, December 7 at 8:00pm. Tickets are $40. The show contains explicit and potentially controversial content; "Holier & Dirtier" is like a wayward savior for the Christmas damaged.
Waters (director of films like Pink Flamingos, Hairspray, and Serial Mom) is the author of the bestselling book, Carsick, about his travels hitchiking. With this show, he hitchhikes into Asbury Park with a bag full of sticks and stones this December spreading yuletide cheer and lunacy. Torn between capitalism and anarchy, Waters feels “Christmas crazy” and as always “needy, greedy, horny for presents and filled with an unnatural desire to please.” His rapid-fire Xmas massacre monologue asks the questions, “Is Santa erotic?” and “Are the holidays a better time for criminals?” while exploring his fanatical love of dangerous gift toys for children and the horror of “living” Nativity scenes. Delving into his hatred of holiday gift cards, fruit baskets and the Easter Bunny, The Pope of Trash will put the "X" in Xmas and give you a Cool Yule like no other. You better watch out, you better cry! John Waters, The People’s Pervert, is coming to town!
New Jersey Stage featured Waters on the cover of our March 2015 issue with an exclusive interview in which we discussed his one-man show and his book. Born in Baltimore, MD in 1946, John Waters was drawn to movies at an early age, particularly exploitation movies with lurid ad campaigns. Waters made his first film, an 8-mm short, Hag in a Black Leather Jacket in 1964, and continued to experiment throughout the 60's. In 1970, Waters completed what he described as his first "celluloid atrocity," Multiple Maniacs, featuring 300 pound transvestite, Lady Divine, as the proprietor of a freak show who lures unsuspecting suburbanites into "The Cavalcade of Perversions." In 1972, Waters created what would become the most "notorious" film in the American independent cinema of the 1970's, PINK FLAMINGOS, turning Waters into a cult celebrity. In HAIRSPRAY (1988), Waters created "an almost big-budget comedy extravaganza." The film was a box office and critical success and starred the then unknown Ricki Lake, Deborah Harry, the late Sonny Bono, Jerry Stiller, Pia Zadora and Ric Ocasek. The success of Hairspray brought Waters major Hollywood backing for his next feature, CRY-BABY (1990), starring Johnny Depp. Both films have since been turned into smash Broadway musicals! Waters has followed with a string of cult films and critical success, including: SERIAL MOM, PECKER, CECIL B. DEMENTED, and A DIRTY SHAME. Waters is also an accomplished actor, photographer, and author, with seven books to his credit.
"A John Waters Christmas: Holier & Dirtier" continues an impressive launch for the Asbury Park club, which seeks to be the area's premiere live entertainment venue. Located at 572 Cookman Avenue, upcoming shows include Henry Rollins, Emily Kinney (from the Walking Dead), Lone Wolf Tribe, Junk Dance, Puddle Pity Party, and a Light of Day Foundation concert featuring Dramarama, Jill Hennessy, Willie Nile, and The Billy Walton Band. For more information on the club visit www.houseofindependents.com
