An amusing and fast-paced one-act comedy hit Theater for the New City full force last night in the form of Just Sex.
Although there are a few issues with the production, I must admit: I was thoroughly entertained throughout most of the evening and the show did not overstay its welcome. Just Sex follows married couple Katherine and William (Tasha Lawrence and playwright Brandt Johnson) as they test the boundaries of their relationship via the online sex-site FFF (Find a Fucking Friend). What works so well with this scenario is that William and Katherine’s personalities, ideas and imaginations are so distinctively unguarded and so richly specific. From the get-go, these two invite the audience to get down and dirty in a rousing examination of sex and love. I instantly feel engaged and invited inside their living room, rather than feeling like a detached onlooker. This is a testament to Brandt’s ‘get-to-the-point’ script (no character beats around the bush, ever) and Alex Kilgore’s razor-sharp direction.
Just Sex is successful in posing relevant questions that any couple could face at some point in their relationship. Is it cheating to look at online sites (and other people’s private parts) behind your partner’s back“ Is it wrong to want to spice things up sexually… but with someone who’s not your partner? In one hilarious moment, Kat exclaims “I want to be bad!” She just doesn’t mean with her husband. Should Kat force William to go that extra mile (ring gag!) or should these two be allowed to get sexual satisfaction outside their marriage? It’s a kinky what-would-you-do scenario that works in large part to Tasha Lawrence’s three-dimensional portrayal of Kat. This is an actress who’s comfortable, expressive and relatable. It’s a daring, bold performance that rises above the rest.
Accolades must also be given to director Alex Kilgore, who also plays William’s best friend Kurt. While at times Kilgore’s performance is transparent and vague, his direction is consistently precise and clear. The blocking is enormously effective. I love how the characters are always moving; the distance between William and Kat says just as much about their relationship as the times they’re touching. The sound design by John Kilgore is also impeccable. The high-pitched beeps, the repeated ‘new message’ notification on the computers, the songs in between scenes -- there’s a frenetic energy to the design that admirably moves the play forward.
The production does stumble in a few key areas. Like Kilgore’s direction is stronger than his acting, Brandt Johnson’s writing is better than his acting. There are too many moments where Brandt’s William seems indifferent about the world around him. At times I wonder "Does this character have any opinions about anything? Does he have the ability to express any emotion?" Notice how he barely reacts to learning his wife was on FFF for two years. Indifference is never the best choice on stage; it makes the audience feel the exact same way about the character. Johnson delivers a one-note performance that would have been much stronger had he gone further emotionally.
For a play called Just Sex, certain scenes contain an excess of dialogue and not enough action. There’s a tediously long scene between Kurt and William that should be cut in half. While every other scene gets right to it, this one is tiresome and slow. Then there’s a conversation about bathrooms and sandwiches that feels irrelevant and goes nowhere. The play loses its way once again in the last ten minutes when William, Kurt, Katherine and young sexy Amanda (Meghan Miller) are finally all onstage together. What could have been a chaotically electrifying finale is oddly flat, lacking dramatic tension and urgency.
Still, thanks to Tasha Lawrence’s strong performance and overall spot-on pacing from everyone involved, grabbing a few friends plus a few beers then heading to TFNC will make for an entertaining night out. “This is getting out of hand,” one character notes at the end of the evening. Things do get out of hand. And most of it is pretty damn fun to observe.
Scheduled March 22 through April 15, Just Sex performs Tuesdays through Sundays at 8pm (with an added matinee on Sunday, March 25). Tickets are $25 and available at SmartTix.com.
