He’s as American as apple pie — and as Maryland as Old Bay. John Waters, the legendary filmmaker, author, and provocateur, is set to bring his latest one-man show, “The Naked Truth,” to the Avalon Theatre in Easton, Maryland, on Friday, May 9, 2025. The evening promises a wild ride through candid storytelling, razor-sharp wit, and the unapologetic humor that has made Waters a true original.
Born and bred in Baltimore, Waters first shocked — and delighted — audiences in the 1970s with underground classics like “Pink Flamingos,” “Female Trouble,” and “Desperate Living,” teaming with his beloved ensemble of Dreamlanders, including the one and only Divine. In 1988, he made the leap into the mainstream with Hairspray, a film that would inspire a Tony Award-winning Broadway smash and a hit movie musical years later. Beyond his work behind the camera, Waters has carved out a second life as an acclaimed author and visual artist, always celebrating the weird, the wild, and the wonderful world of “good bad taste.”
With “The Naked Truth,” Waters strips it all down, offering a fast-paced, confessional performance that draws from his own outrageous life and takes aim at the absurdities of today’s culture. Billed as a “secret-sharing, one-man crackpot comedy show,” it’s pure Waters — full of irreverent anecdotes, sharp social commentary, and the offbeat charm that earned him titles like “The Pope of Trash” and “The Prince of Puke.”
The historic Avalon Theatre, a local treasure since 1921, sets the perfect scene for this unforgettable night. Tickets are available through the Avalon Foundation, though fans hoping for a little extra were quick to snatch up the limited “Group Therapy” experience, which included a signed copy of his novel “Liarmouth” and a photo op with the man himself. But don’t let that stop you. Be sure to catch “The Naked Truth” live in Easton — and see a true original in all his fearless, filthy glory!
Ahead of this tour stop, Jason Price of Icon Vs. Icon caught up with John Waters for a wide-ranging conversation, reflecting on his incredible life, early inspirations, cultural impact, and why, after all these years, he’s still not afraid to stir the pot.
You’re currently out touring “The Naked Truth,” and you’ll be touching down at the historic Avalon Theatre in Easton, Maryland, on May 9th. You’re as busy as ever these days, John!
Yes, and I did eight other cities this week! The last show was in El Paso. I’ve been in deep America! DEEP AMERICA! [laughs]
Easton is my hometown, and as a long-time fan and fellow Marylander, this tour stop is long overdue. Tell me a little about your experiences on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Any memories, adventures, or impressions?
Well, I went to Camp Gunston, which was on the Eastern Shore, and I have a lot of crazy memories from those experiences. Of course, I went to Ocean City as a kid with my family, but I started going to Provincetown at the end of my senior year in high school. I remember some of the trouble that you had down there. I remember H. Rap Brown and some of that crazy stuff. I also had a friend who was in prison on the Eastern Shore, whom I used to visit all the time. I’ve been to the Ocean City Film Festival a couple of times, which is great. And that friend I visited in prison—well, that was the last time I was there.
Well, let’s hope your upcoming trip is a little more positive!
Oh yes, it will be! I think it will be—but those were positive too! [laughs]
The Naked Truth is being hailed as one of your best shows yet. What can you tell us about the origins of your one-man shows?
I’ve been doing these kinds of one-man shows for 50 years. It began when Divine and I went to colleges to promote my early movies. I was influenced by vaudeville, you know! I used to go over to Gaiety Burlesque and see baggy-pants comedians come out between the nudist camp movies! I’m a carny at heart! Then, I saw William Castle do all these crazy gimmicks in his films. And I saw Kroger Babb when he had Mom and Dad and these sex education movies where fake nurses walked up and down the aisle, and they had an ambulance out front to take away shocked patrons. So I really liked all that kind of showmanship! Divine and I used to have an act where we would come out, and then Divine would throw dead fish in the audience. Then a fake cop would come on stage and try to arrest him, and Divine would strangle the cop. THEN the movie would start! That was our act. So it just came from those humble beginnings. Each year, I write a brand new show, and then I have to memorize it—that 70 minutes—and that turns into a kind of Christmas show. So once a year, I rewrite the whole thing. If you saw it last year, it would be completely different.
Did your over-the-top approach work right away?
Absolutely—it worked right from the beginning! I did it just as a way to promote our movies because we didn’t have budgets for advertising or anything. So we would go to the colleges, kind of like carnivals, and launch it. When Pink Flamingos opened, it didn’t open all at once. We’d do one city at a time, and this was before video or anything, so that’s how movies were distributed. I just did it as a way of promoting the films in the beginning, and then it became just another way for me to tell stories. I mean, I have 52 shows this year, so it’s a lot, you know? It’s a big part of how I make my living now!
That’s a big commitment. What’s life on the road like for you these days?
I get to see my fans! It doesn’t matter if I was in New York or El Paso—they’re the same. They’re cool! They dress well, they’re smart, and they’re all ages. They’re very mixed, sexually. I like that. But I never am in real life, because I often leave at four in the morning for the airport to get an early flight. I get to the next city, I go to sleep, then wake up, rehearse, do the show, do the meet and greet afterward, and then go home. Then I go back to sleep and make my way to the next city. So I don’t ever see anything except what’s on the way from the airport to the venue. I do see my friends in each city, backstage in between, but I never go out in any city or have any social life, because it’s just impossible to do!
Another really cool aspect of “The Naked Truth” tour is the ‘Group Therapy Session’ you’re doing afterward. It’s a great way for fans to connect. How did that come about?
You know, country western stars started the meet and greet. That’s where, afterward, people pay extra money to meet you. Dolly Parton started that! I did it for years, and the clubs want it because, sometimes, that’s their profit. So I always do it. But when it was a meet and greet, you posed for selfies with people—and I got Covid twice! So I thought I had to change it. Now it’s group therapy—people share, and we talk! For photo ops, they line up around the stage, and I go down the red carpet where they do selfies with me behind them. That’s how I’ve made it a safe meet and greet!
Always thinking outside the box! I love it. Many fans have grown up with you, but you still attract new generations. What do you think it is about your work that keeps connecting across the decades?
Of the last eight shows I did, seven were sold out, and the other one was 95% full. And the crowds? They’re all ages! I think it’s because I make fun of the rules we live by. I make fun of the rules that supposed outlaws and liberals live by—because I am one—but I make fun of those rules, and I make fun of myself first! I make fun of things I love, not hate. So, in a way, I think that’s why I’ve gotten away with this for half a century!
You’ve had such a long, prolific career across so many mediums. What’s been the secret to creative longevity for you?
I am driven, I guess. I don’t know! People say to me, “I don’t know how you do this,” and I say, “Well, I don’t know how I can’t do it—when it’s offered and I can do it.” I believe you only get one life, so I want to cram everything into it that I can do! Being on the road and living like this is kind of fun. I live in four different places, but I definitely have a private life. I don’t work constantly, but being in touch with my audience is very, very important to me—in terms of how I write, how I think, and how I see how people react to my work. My movies are probably more popular now than they were when they came out. I mean, they’re definitely much easier to see!
Your drive is truly inspiring. How did that end up in your creative DNA?
Maybe from my dad, you know. He started his own business. I did too. We just had very different products. I’m very organized. I’m very driven. I like to work. I like my work. I can’t imagine what it would be like if every day you got up and dreaded going to work. That must be the most horrible life. I’ve never had that. Well, I’ve had a real job. I worked in bookshops, and I could do that again. I liked working in bookshops!
I know you are very committed to the creative process. Tell us a little bit about a day in the life of John Waters these days.
Every day, Monday to Friday, I get up at 6 AM. I read six newspapers that get delivered to my house in Baltimore. Then I read about five or six more online. I look at my emails, and at exactly eight o’clock, I start thinking up weird things for some project! From there, I work till about 11 AM, and then in the afternoon, I’m in my office. I have four people that work for me. We sell it! That’s what I do. I get ideas easily because I’m never bored. I just watch people, I read, I listen to people. I’m nosy, I keep up. I have “youth spies” who tell me about new music. I’m always interested in the world I live in, and that is why I’m never short on ideas. Human behavior is staggering.
Tell me more about these youth spies.
Sure. For example, they will take me to different clubs that I haven’t been to. I like to go to heavy metal clubs, and places I would never go. So yeah, the spies tell me good things. One night, I went to something that was advertised as “dyke stripper night,” but it was old-school Johnny Cash kind of lesbians stripping on poles. It was so good!
I’m starting to think I might be out of touch! I may need to consider youth spies of my own.
I recommend it.
Has your writing process evolved through the years?
Well, it’s pretty much always been the same. I write by hand with big pens and the special legal pads I need. Once I get a first draft, my assistants put it into print, and then I still Scotch tape it together. Yeah, it doesn’t matter how you write. You just have to do it every day. It hasn’t changed one bit, actually. Well, in the very beginning, I smoked pot when I wrote. I haven’t done that in 30 years!
I imagine that probably keeps things a little more together!
Not necessarily, but it was good. I was younger! [laughs]
You’ve been in the limelight for so many years, but you’ve really managed to balance your personal and creative lives. You’ve also been able to keep a real mystique, which is not an easy thing to pull off in our modern age. Do you think there are still misconceptions out there about you?
No, I think I’m perfectly understood. Oh no, I don’t think there are any misconceptions. [laughs wildly]
Any regrets?
You know, I have one regret — smoking cigarettes. If you smoke now, you are really stupid, because now you know! I have many friends that are dying from smoking right now. Basically, it does kill you. That’s my one regret. I wouldn’t tell myself to do anything very differently, because I knew a “no” was free. I didn’t let rejection stop me. I based a career on negative press. At the same time, though, somebody has to like it besides your mother and the person you’re sleeping with! When you get that third person, your career has begun.
Where do you see yourself headed creatively? Is there anything that’s really speaking to you at the moment that you want to pursue?
Well, no. I will write another book. I don’t know that I’ll write another movie right now, because I’ve written two that didn’t happen yet. The movie business, as I know it, is kind of over right now. I still go to the movies, and I still like them, but I definitely can write a book anytime I want. I also do these shows constantly, which is like writing a little book every year. A 70-minute show is a little book, if you printed it out. You know, I have so many jobs. I host punk rock festivals. Tonight, I’m giving an award to Pedro Almodóvar at Lincoln Center. You know, I have so many jobs — I don’t need another one!
That’s a good problem to have, John! You mentioned the Hollywood system having changed. It seems Hollywood’s in a bad spot right now.
It seems bad in general. But some movies still do very well, though they’re very different kinds of movies. I don’t know. I’ve made every kind of movie! I started underground, then midnight, then independent, then Hollywood. And I think I’m back to Hollywood underground. I’ve made every kind of movie and worked in every kind of system, and Hollywood treated me fairly. I’m not complaining. Even the last two movies that didn’t get made — I got paid to write them. I got paid a couple of times, and it didn’t happen. So, you know, Hollywood — I’m fine with it.
Has humor always played a role in your creative life?
Yes. I think people might find something distasteful, but I get them to laugh about it. Humor is political. Humor is a weapon. Humor is how you protect yourself, and humor is how you change people’s minds. So I try to use humor in a way about things that often are not so funny in real life, but might get you to reconsider. Because if you want to change somebody’s mind, you make them laugh!
Your relationship with Divine is well documented. In addition to him, who are the people you feel have really had a definitive impact on your life and creative output?
Well, certainly Vincent Peranio, who did all the production design for all my movies. Van Smith, who did all the costumes. Pat Moran, who did lots of the casting and worked with me from the very beginning. I’m still friends with some of the movie stars as well! Kathleen Turner and I are still friends, and I think “Serial Mom” is my best movie.
Yeah, I have to agree with you there. It’s been really cool to see it find an audience in the years since its release. It keeps popping up on the radar and I hear more and more people reference it all the time.
Yeah, and it was a failure at the box office when it came out!
It’s crazy, because it’s got such a great story and great cast. The same goes for “Pecker” with Eddie Furlong, which I feel — while often overlooked — is still a fun film.
Well, “Pecker” is my “nice” movie, even though it does have tea-bagging and talking Virgin Mary statues! [laughs] I like “Pecker,” too. I like them all for different reasons. I haven’t seen Eddie for a while. I know he went through a lot of bad stuff after we made that movie, but I think he’s back, which I’m glad to hear!
Yeah, that’s true. He was recently on Steve-O’s podcast recounting his story and talking about his sobriety. He had some wild tales, but he seems to be in a great place. I hope we see more of him in the near future.
Yeah, that’s great to hear. I love a comeback story!
As everyone knows, you have an incredible sense of style. What really excites you about what’s happened in the world of fashion these days?
Fashion is humor to me, and fashion is also political. I’ve done two Yves Saint Laurent campaigns and things for Calvin Klein, but I wear crazy clothes! You have to participate in the world you want to be in! Fashion, to me, is humorous. I pay a lot of money to look poor, but that’s what you do at my age. The most expensive thing I ever bought was a Yohji Yamamoto coat that’s white linen and has black grease stains on it, like you were attacked by somebody in Jiffy Lube! But it makes me laugh every time I put it on. One time, a homeless man yelled to me, “Did you pay for that?” And I said, “Yeah.” He said, “I got two more — want to buy?” So I knew I had dressed successfully that day. When that happens, you know you’ve made it.
That’s incredible. Have you ever given thought to a John Waters Museum at some point?
My house could be that, but someone will have to figure that out after I’m dead. [laughs] So, my house is that, kind of, but right now there are no plans to have a John Waters Museum. It would be one hell of a yard sale!
You’re such an institution, my friend. I know our time is short, but I just wanted to say that your work has certainly shaped my world, and I can’t thank you enough for that. Seeing what you were capable of made art seem accessible.
Thank you. I wrote a book called “Role Models,” about all the people who did that for me. Everybody needs that! Everybody needs to get to the point where they finally say, “I can do this. I can get into this world!” Often, especially when you’re young, you can see this world but you don’t know how to get into it — especially if you’re born far away from it, geographically.
Your DIY spirit really is something that truly stood out, so thank you for putting in all the hard work.
Yeah, young kids, that’s what they do. They gather their friends, and they do it — if it’s music or whatever it is. You just have to believe you’re gonna do it. That’s all. You can’t take no for an answer. Don’t let a “no” stop you. You can have a million noes, but all you need is one “Yes!”
Thanks so much, Jason.
Thank you, Jason! Take care, and I’ll see you in Easton!
