Oh! Calcutta!

Oh! Calcutta! is an avant-garde, risqué theatrical revue created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan and produced by Hillard Elkins. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in the West End in 1970. It ran in London for over 3,900 performances, and in New York initially for 1,314. Revivals enjoyed even longer runs, including a 1976 Broadway revival that ran for 5,959 performances, making the show the longest-running revue in Broadway history, the second longest-running revival (after Chicago), and the eighth longest-running Broadway show ever. The show sparked considerable controversy at the time due to its extended scenes of total nudity, both male and female. The title is taken from a painting by French artist Clovis Trouille, a portrait of a reclining nude. Trouille's 1946 work Oh! Calcutta! Calcutta! mixes photographic collage and oil techniques; the inscription is a (French pun (quel cul t'as!), an admiring exclamation on the woman's buttocks.