Prince F*****

 

Now that I've ultimately gotten your attention just based on the title and photo, let me explain what the bigger picture is that I'm trying to get at. Prince 'F' is an off-Broadway play that originally completed a sold-out summer run before reopening in September of last year for an extended showing at Playwright Horizons. Me and one of my friends got on the topic of this show while discussing the current plays opening and closing on Broadway as we speak. We initially thought that this was just another cringy spin-off version of a movie or book, similar to the heated rivalry parody musical that is about to open (I also have some strong opinions about this). I figured it was something similar to Red, White, and Royal Blue just with an additional added layer of spice on top. But instead, we opened a can of worms unveiling a deeply problematic and borderline pedophilic plotline. This play is essentially based of a picture of Prince George that went viral on social media and got him labeled as 'Prince 'F'. The writer ran with the virality of this picture and took the image of a twelve-year-old prince and turned it into a lukewarm romance. In the play they have aged up the prince but purposely kept his name and characterization while showing him exploring a world of love, spice, and kink. The play even has to start with a warning and debrief just so the viewers are okay with the idea that they are watching a played-out fantasy about an underage prince. How this didn't get more viewership for what it was is absolutely wild to me, but I think it's interesting how far people are willing to go to find things that are problematic acceptable. This to me speaks to the book Tok culture and how highly abuse plotlines are romanticized and sold within colorful books.