Lovelace: A Rock Opera
Based on two of the Deep Throat star’s four autobiographies, the musical follows Linda Lovelace’s journey from “suburban sweet young thing into the bondage of sexual Sveng
Lovelace: A Rock Opera
Hayworth Theater
Los Angeles
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
(323) 960-4442
**
“Poor Linda Lovelace’s unique saga—’70s sexual-excess poster-child turned living witness for the anti-porn backlash—is told with dogged literalness” in Lovelace: A Rock Opera, said Bob Verini in Variety. Based on two of the Deep Throat star’s four autobiographies, the musical first follows Lovelace’s journey from “suburban sweet young thing into the bondage of sexual Svengali Chuck Traynor.” Traynor marries Linda, then forces her into prostitution. The couple meets would-be filmmaker Gerard Damiano, who casts her in the most famous pornographic film of all time. Deep Throat’s success had a profound effect on American sexual mores in the 1970s, but took a direct toll on Lovelace in the form of drug addiction and sexual torture. Lovelace never really taps the emotion of the tale, however, and the libretto, by Anna Waronker and Charlotte Caffey, “lacks a shred of poetry or point of view.”
The music is a whole different story, said Amy Nicholson in the LA Weekly. Caffey was part of the 1980s girl-group the Go-Go’s, and Waronker played with rock group That Dog in the 1990s. They know a thing or two about crafting a pop song, so even when the lyrics are at their bleakest, the songs have an unmistakable “pop catchiness.” Then there’s Katrina Lenk, who is sensational in the title role. Embodying the nymphal naughtiness that gave Lovelace her mass appeal, she seems to have “a dozen nuanced smiles that range from innocent and shattered to grateful,” which she can summon to set the requisite mood. Most of all, she makes Lovelace seem less a victim than a tragic heroine.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Trump trade war heats up as Canada, EU retaliate
Speed Read The president imposes 25% steel and aluminum tariffs in an effort to revive US manufacturing, though it may drive up prices for Americans instead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
What's behind the scrapping of NHS England?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting promise greater democratic control but there are whispers in Westminster that they have 'gone a bit Tory'
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published
-
Today's political cartoons - March 13, 2025
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - White House Tesla dealership, nothing doing, and more
By The Week US Published