Be ready for 'Coyote Ugly'

This Tuesday the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus will reveal another of its new performing arts facilities to the public -- the big, black, versatile room known as the Rust Flexible Theatre (named for Southeast Missourian chairman Gary Rust's wifeWendy Kurka Rust).

They call it a black box theater, and the description's pretty accurate -- a large, squarish room with black walls that allows for several different spatial orientations of stage and audience.

But before you go see the play "Coyote Ugly" just because the Rust is new, be warned.

"Coyote Ugly" isn't a clean, family-friendly romp like "Big River." Nor is it a stage adaptation of the movie about attractive female bartenders. In fact, "Coyote Ugly" is about as edgy as it gets.

From the Southeast news release: "The play contains very adult subject matter, physical and gun violence with loud sound effects, sharply rough language, and smoking."

Not family friendly, but doesn't it pique your curiosity?

That little disclaimer only hints at the shocking story line you'll see unfold in "Coyote Ugly." At the heart of this drama/dark comedy lies one of the most taboo concepts in our society -- incest. Prepare to be shocked.

Sure, some people might be offended at the thought of having a play chock full of incest and dysfunction take the stage at the new, shiny River Campus.

We've seen controversy over the university's stage productions in the past, like the recent, sexually charged "Romeo and Juliet" that made some grade school administrators pull their classes' tickets.

But "Coyote Ugly" isn't a play for young children, and Southeast wants to make that point clear. You can find out more in Sam Blackwell's story inside.

One of the great things about art is its range -- and the fact that sometimes it tests the boundaries. Here in Cape Girardeau, we're lucky to have the options to see a play, listen to music or view paintings and sculptures that are both conservative and boundary-pushing in nature. If it were all the same, how boring would this place be? Very.

So be warned, "Coyote Ugly" may offend your sensibilities. If you think it will, then don't attend. But if the university didn't produce plays all over the dramatic spectrum, it wouldn't fulfill its educational mission very well.

Like it or not, "Coyote Ugly" is necessary.