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Do Me a Little

By Marissa Kohn; Directed by David Alpert


 

BOTTOM LINE: This consistently funny comedy explores what happens when two Mormon newlyweds attempt to lose their virginities and expose hidden truths about their sexual orientations and histories.

Buying into the Fringe tradition of using sexually provocative material and titles, Do Me a Little centers on writer and actress Marissa Kohn's character Mandy, a Mormon desperate to lose her virginity on her wedding night while in a pirate-themed bridal suite. She is ready to rip off her dress, don lingerie, and bed her new husband Brigham (Trey Gerrald) but he seems increasingly put off by her eagerness. When Mandy tells him she has been dreaming of this night lustfully, and has prepared by taking birth control, buying some sexy props, and doing research, Brigham becomes upset, saying that her eagerness for sex makes her kind of a "whore." At first his refusals are met with humor by Mandy, who does laughably bad sexy dances with a french fry and a pirate hat. She later pulls out her bridal shower gifts, including a pair of edible panties given to her Brigham's own mother because, Mandy explains, she knows how "much you like candy."

As the refusals intensify, the comedy shifts to drama and Brigham reveals the truth about his sexuality while Mandy confesses that she has not always been entirely pure regarding her own sexual history. The play morphs from satire into a story that honestly shows how people cope with their sexual desires in the face of strict religious guidelines. (The play's realistic discussion of Mormonism may be due to the fact that Kohn herself is a Utah native.) Both Kohn and Gerrald show a knack for both comedic and dramatic acting, and their skillfully rendered moments of physical comedy can be credited to the direction of David Alpert.  

(Do Me a Little plays at the First Floor Theatre @ La MaMa, 74A East 4th street, through August 25, 2012. Remaining performance is Saturday the 25th at 4:45pm. Tickets are $15 and are available at www.fringenyc.org. More information is available at  www.domealittleplay.com.)