Teeth (musical)

Teeth is a musical by Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs, adapted from the 2007 horror film of the same name. It premiered off-Broadway in 2024 at Playwrights Horizons.

The musical follows Dawn O'Keefe, an evangelical teenager, who is navigating the challenges of adolescent dating and chastity when she discovers she has teeth in her vagina.

Synopsis
Dawn O'Keefe is the leader of the Promise Keeper Girls, a Christian youth group under the auspices of the church run by her stepfather, known as Pastor. Dawn feuds with her stepbrother, Brad, over an incident when they were young in which he fingered her and received a cut. Feeling emasculated, Brad turns to the Truthseekers, a virtual group of men's rights activists, to reclaim a sense of power, but Pastor discovers him masturbating upon the instructions of their leader, Godfather, and beats him. Dawn struggles with the temptation to break her chastity vow with her boyfriend, Tobey. They go swimming and become engaged, then begin having sex. However, when Tobey starts becoming aggressive and ignoring Dawn's pleas to stop, Dawn's vagina abruptly cuts off Tobey's penis and leaves him, dead, floating in the lake.

In Act II, Dawn's friend Ryan recommends she see a gynaecologist outside of town. Though initially sympathetic, he reveals predatory tendencies during his examination that result in Dawn cutting off his hand inside her vagina. Ryan, a closeted gay man, discovers that Dawn is a reincarnation of the goddess Dentata and suggests that having sex with the right man will cure her of her vaginal dentition. The two have sex, but Ryan reveals he was secretly live-streaming the encounter to prove that he is no longer gay. In a vengeful state, Dawn has sex with him again and cuts off his penis. In a final battle, the Promise Keeper Girls face off against Pastor and the Truthseekers, castrating them and threatening the audience.

Adaptation
Though based on the 2007 film Teeth, the musical makes some adjustments to the characters, combining the roles of pastor and Dawn's stepfather and creating the roles of Ryan and the Promise Keeper Girls. The musical also originates Brad's incel storyline.

Jacobs' score ranges from Christian rock to what she described as "an ancient feminine Tori Amos meets Stravinsky pagan ritual music."

Productions
Versions of the show were workshopped at the Sundance Institute, Playwrights Horizons, Ars Nova, and 54 Below.

The off-Broadway run entered previews at Playwrights Horizons on February 21, 2024, opening March 19 after a weeklong delay due to cast illness. It was twice extended and closed April 28. Sarah Benson directed and Raja Feather Kelly choreographed.

An Off-Broadway commercial, open-ended transfer of the Playwrights Horizons production will open at New World Stages on October 31, 2024. The original Off-Broadway cast recording was released digitally on July 12, 2024, with the physical release set for August 30.

Reception
The New York Times theater critic Jesse Green praised Jacobs' "catchy pop-rock tunes with their smart, smutty rhymes," but suggested the musical's plot is contrived to fit the frame of its satirical message. A Times feature on the show by journalist Erik Piepenburg called it a "feminist awakening with a lethal bite." Vulture Sara Holdren commended the musical's use of the horror genre, juxtaposing the "fantastical" gruesomeness of the on-stage violence with the frightening realism of the ideas that underpin them. For The Washington Post, Brittani Samuel lamented the power that men hold in defining Dawn's character, commenting that, "While it's all raucous, campy fun, one can’t help but crave more for our protagonist."

The musical received four Drama Desk Award nominations in 2024, specifically Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Lyrics, Outstanding Book, and Outstanding Featured Actor for Steven Pasquale.