#1
Posted: 5/29/05 at 2:21pm
Looking for light-hearted fare at the end of a brutal week, encouraged by reviews that promised new insights, and seduced by essentially free tickets, I ignored that little voice in my head that kept saying, "This is a really bad idea..."
And that is how I came to attend a performance of Orgasms last night.
The place was packed, but it was packed with the kind of people one tends not to see at off or off-off bway shows. It reminded me of passing Chippendales and seeing droves of middle class, middle aged women (not that there's anything wrong with that...) about to go be titillated by a suggestive show.
Okay. I'm as open-minded as the next person, and although I consider myself to be a feminist, I am not humorless or pedantic. But five minutes into the show, as it became clear that large chunks of the audience were eating this **** right up, I leaned over and asked my friend, "Exactly who ARE these people who are finding this so easy to relate to?"
Orgasms latched onto every tired stereotype typically found in the more red state-ish and pedestrian comedy routines that have addressed "the difference between the sexes" for as far back as I can remember. There was nothing new. And what was even more unfortunate, was that it portrayed heterosexual men and women as basically wanting what they can get from their partner...women want material goods, flattery...even if false, and to have their every whim catered to by the male, who by virtue of his gender, is not as highly evolved. Women shop with wild abandon. Men watch sports on TV. Women have sex with men and perceive that act of intimacy as nothing more than a venue for manipulating to get stuff out of the man (say, a new car, for example). Men, on the other hand, don't like to talk, only care about sex...and are, by nature, generally clueless. At least that's how it is according to Orgasms. I have to ask again... With whom are these sterotypes okay???
I found some stuff to laugh at, but for the most part, I just really wanted it to be over. I hated this play, possibly as much as I hated The Kidney (off-off Bway a year or two ago). Maybe more. Loathed it, actually.
Orgasms is performed by two actors, one of each sex. I should mention that the male actor, whose name escapes me, was really rather appealing despite the abyssmal material he was working with. I thought he had a nice delivery and terrific comedic timing. I wouldn't mind seeing him appear in another, better show, in the future. The woman, whose name does not excape me, but which I have chosen not to print, is someone I will avoid like the plague. She had a really irritating delivery and an obnoxious affect. I disliked her intensely and have committed her name to memory...because seeing her once was more than enough.
And that is how I came to attend a performance of Orgasms last night.
The place was packed, but it was packed with the kind of people one tends not to see at off or off-off bway shows. It reminded me of passing Chippendales and seeing droves of middle class, middle aged women (not that there's anything wrong with that...) about to go be titillated by a suggestive show.
Okay. I'm as open-minded as the next person, and although I consider myself to be a feminist, I am not humorless or pedantic. But five minutes into the show, as it became clear that large chunks of the audience were eating this **** right up, I leaned over and asked my friend, "Exactly who ARE these people who are finding this so easy to relate to?"
Orgasms latched onto every tired stereotype typically found in the more red state-ish and pedestrian comedy routines that have addressed "the difference between the sexes" for as far back as I can remember. There was nothing new. And what was even more unfortunate, was that it portrayed heterosexual men and women as basically wanting what they can get from their partner...women want material goods, flattery...even if false, and to have their every whim catered to by the male, who by virtue of his gender, is not as highly evolved. Women shop with wild abandon. Men watch sports on TV. Women have sex with men and perceive that act of intimacy as nothing more than a venue for manipulating to get stuff out of the man (say, a new car, for example). Men, on the other hand, don't like to talk, only care about sex...and are, by nature, generally clueless. At least that's how it is according to Orgasms. I have to ask again... With whom are these sterotypes okay???
I found some stuff to laugh at, but for the most part, I just really wanted it to be over. I hated this play, possibly as much as I hated The Kidney (off-off Bway a year or two ago). Maybe more. Loathed it, actually.
Orgasms is performed by two actors, one of each sex. I should mention that the male actor, whose name escapes me, was really rather appealing despite the abyssmal material he was working with. I thought he had a nice delivery and terrific comedic timing. I wouldn't mind seeing him appear in another, better show, in the future. The woman, whose name does not excape me, but which I have chosen not to print, is someone I will avoid like the plague. She had a really irritating delivery and an obnoxious affect. I disliked her intensely and have committed her name to memory...because seeing her once was more than enough.
Sueleen Gay: "Here you go, Bitch, now go make some fukcing lemonade." 10/28/10
Updated On: 5/29/05 at 02:21 PM
