'Girl's Guide to Chaos' pulls no punches to bring laughs
By WILLIAM KERNS A-J Entertainment Editor
Being single or divorced, meeting new people, dating again, safe sex, breaking up, supporting despondent friends, then trying to meet people again while fearing a repeat of the same routine. It's the relationship hell of the '90s, and it is explored with biting wit, sarcasm and humor in the adult comedy ''A Girl's Guide to Chaos.''
The lightning fast-moving play, directed by Deborah G. Martin and only 75 minutes in length, also includes some surprisingly explicit verbal sexual references. So keep that in mind ...Read More
'Girl's Guide to Chaos' pulls no punches to bring laughs
By WILLIAM KERNS A-J Entertainment Editor
Being single or divorced, meeting new people, dating again, safe sex, breaking up, supporting despondent friends, then trying to meet people again while fearing a repeat of the same routine. It's the relationship hell of the '90s, and it is explored with biting wit, sarcasm and humor in the adult comedy ''A Girl's Guide to Chaos.''
The lightning fast-moving play, directed by Deborah G. Martin and only 75 minutes in length, also includes some surprisingly explicit verbal sexual references. So keep that in mind before taking impressionable kids or friends who persistently seek sensitive theater to this Lubbock Summer Rep' show at Texas Tech's Lab Theatre.
Better yet, why even risk it? Leave them all at home.
On the other hand, those with more liberal tastes - or perhaps those who recognize so well the characters on stage, and that's many of us - are going to have a tough time refraining from laughing out loud.
Playwright Cynthia Hemel, who based the comedy on her book ''Sex Tips for Modern Girls,'' pulls no punches while relaying the rules to sexual game-playing, not to mention the mind games suffered during the dating process, from jealousy to small talk to the sort of ''girl talk'' that most men never imagine might be occurring.
True, this production arrives on the heels of such plays as ''Six Women with Brain Death (or Inquiring Minds Want to Know''), ''Bar V'' and, most recently, the very funny ''The POETS'cq Club,'' all of which dealt, at least to an extent, with the frustration of relationships and single adulthood. But ''A Girl's Guide to Chaos'' take a much more hard line approach.
Even so, while some of its humor admittedly might be labeled shock humor (''Oh my gosh, I can't believe she said that'') and aimed at younger demographics, the laughter rarely is diluted.
Give Martin's talented cast plenty of credit for that. Boyfriend-needy Heidi Hargrove, the always funny Jill Leven and tough-talking Texan Denise Fleming are three fast friends there to support one another.
C. Patrick Gendusa is a literal ''everyman'' figure, playing all the male characters in the play, more than once earning applause in mid-performance.
And the interruptions by Lorri Hobson as the forthright Lurene, actually bumping into the stars in a variety of locations, kept a huge smile on my face throughout - yes, even when she inspired the opposite reaction from the three leads.
The frustrations of being single in the '90s run rampant, with some characters self-sufficient, others hiding their loneliness and others wanting to hang on to a boyfriend because, darn it, dating is the pits.
Just coming up with small talk and figuring out what to do with one's hands on a date can ruin the whole experience. The play also offers the top 10 signs of a woman desiring sexual activity, then comes back with Leven speaking for many by saying, ''I want love insurance.''
To Martin's credit, the overlapping soundtrack also follows the play's thematic approach. Listen closely and you'll hear ''These Boots are Made for Walkin'°'' early on, not so much a symbol of aggression as a demand for respect. By the end, all are content to know that, as the song says, ''I Will Survive.''
The profanity in ''A Girls Guide to Chaos'' could turn many off. But the timing of the actors, the blocking by Martin in the intimate space and even the tiptoeing beyond the boundaries of good taste define action and keep audiences involved.
This is not safe theater.
The humor cuts deep, either striking raw bone or touching the heart. Either way, it works.
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