A while back, I was watching Miss Saigon, which for those who haven't seen it, is a musical about a peasant Vietnamese girl who was forced into prostitution, fell in love with a G.I. in the VN war, etc., etc. etc. I'm not a huge musical fan, so during the parts I found somewhat boring, I was wondering how many musicals, operas and films feature a prostitute. (not just casual mention, that list would fill a room) Right off I thought of Pretty Woman, Irma la Deuce, Moulin Rouge, La Boheme, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Then, almost the next day, Michelle posted a nice little story in which she elaborated on Pretty Woman, then by coincidence, it was on HBO, and so I watched it again for the umpteenth time. So I wondered about many things. Michelle's introspection answered one of my questions, at least from her standpoint, and that is whether ladies in the business actually related in any way, or if they walked away after viewing it saying, "what horseshit", requires too much suspension of disbelief. I also figure that since it is a common theme in the arts, that creative men in particular, like Toulous Lautrec, must be drawn to not just the working ladies and the services they offer, but to the mystique as well. (there I go using another French word!)
So, the question(s): Can anybody recall any other noteworthy works featuring ladies of the night, and for you ladies, how do you relate to performances like Pretty Woman?

The answer to the question, helped me get my load off serveral times, always feel better when I use a whore.

the songs and brief scene for my final and love all the songs!

Yes, there are some Pretty Woman things I can relate to. Yep..

Off the top of my head...

Leaving Las Vegas
Carmen (not sure)

Almost certainly the classic opera about a lady of the evening is La Traviata by Verdi.  The lady, a true courtesan, is also the heroine of the opera who gives up her lover at his father's urging.  Then she dies of tuberculosis.  The music is some of the greatest ever written.

FS

According to the lyrics, she performed all kinds of bondage acts. Throughout the play, there was a large stigma attached to this previous profession of hers.

Fantine in Les Miserables turns to prostitution right after she sings her big number and then dies.

Klute

Belle de Jour

Pretty Baby

Trading Places

Dangerous Beauty - with Catherine McCormack and Rufus Sewell (based on the life of the 16th century Venetian courtesan Veronica Franco).

FWIW, in my time in this hobby, only once have I had a rendezvous on a Sunday. And I'm not even Greek.

Venus Beauty Institute, Never on Sunday, Dangerous Beauty, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Camille, Working Girls, Belle du Jour, Blazing Saddles.  For more info, see the attached website -- you need to go into it and click on books and films.  I've cribbed some of the films from her.

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but stripping and bondage aren't mentioned in La Boheme

So I see you are not reading Puccini in the original.  If you know the idiom, you can find all sorts of veiled references to unnatural carnal acts....

Just kidding-  I just wanted to provide the kind of pedantic observations you all expect of me...

It is however one of the few (6-9?) operas I have actually seen/heard!  So I felt soooo enlightened!

Got any Van Halen?  I need to cleanse my faggy side and go all amurican...!

C'mon, Sully, I'm just starting to get into my faggy side. I'm going to start using every french derivative I know, like sousant neuf, voulez vous coushez avec mois, garage, etc. I'm going to write about theater, art, classical music the whole 9 yards!

don't forget cooking

I actually have a gay friend who does not cook- we often say how I managed to get his cooking fag part while he got my basball-loving part, as I hate the pastime and he is an AVID fan.  We do agree on football!

Alexandre Dumas fils wrote _La Dame Aux Camelias_ (The Lady of the Camellias), or _Camille_ in English.  It is a autobiographical novel based on his affair with the courtesan Marie Duplessis, who was known as ‘la dame aux camélias’ because she displayed white camellias the 25 days a month when she open for business and red camellias during the five she was not.

I understand there are several film versions of _Camille_, but I have only seen the one with Greta Garbo (_Camille_, 1936), which is often cited as her best performance ever.  _Moulin Rouge_ also is based on _Camille_.


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I liked the play MUCH better than the movie, which was different in a lot of ways, though I saw it so long ago that I can't remember the differences now.  It's about Claudia, a prostitute who kills a client, trying to prove she is sane and can stand trial.  The play was very moving.

The lady of the evening in La Boheme was, perhaps, Musetta.

How impressively literate Laurel.  You are absolutely right.  Few people read Camille today.  All opera lovers will know and appreciate La Traviata.

I heard there was a line in the movie at that point which was cut out to help the ratings - something to the effect of Cleavon Little saying that he would like to claim credit for her joy, but she was sucking on his elbow.

d_d

I agree that La Traviata is a beautiful opera.  I pointed out the connections to other works and to Dumas' real-life affair with a courtesan because I thought it might be of interest to some.  And, I thought the ladies who did not already know about the red and white camellias might enjoy that.  

Was there some sexual undercurrent I was too young to pick up on?  There WAS that scene with her blowing the Toot Sweets...  I'm shattered!

It's my tacky sense of humor...not an orphaned thread.