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Performance Thu Jun 02 2011
"You're Being Ridiculous; My First Time"
When I walked into Gorilla Tango Theater to see You're Being Ridiculous, My First Time, I was admittedly skeptical; a show with that premise could go very wrong, very fast. Much to my delight, what unfolded was an endearing, funny, well written and well produced show, worth the $15 ticket price.
When the lights went up and the music went down, the five performers who wrote and starred in My First Time sat in chairs on a blank stage and waited their turn to read personal essays, each telling the story of their "first time". All but one were related to sexual experiences, and each one was refreshing, entertaining and insightful.
Ryan Hastings and Kathleen Gibson stood out with their stories of attempting to live outside of their norm, only to have their actions backfire. Hastings tells the story of accidentally picking up a male prostitute while studying abroad in Greece, and Gibson talks, unapologetically, about her love for dating black men, her brief attempt at dating white men, and finding out that the one white man she dated turned out to be a Nazi.
Jeremy Owens and Joseph Varisco shared humbling tales of attempting to be straight by having sex with women and using Craigslist as a dating tool, respectively. Ann Taylor tells a story that the listener is led to think is about her first sexual experience, until thet the very end, where she reveals the truth.
Each of the five performers exposed their vulnerability in their writing and delivery, and avoided cliche at every turn. I was pleasantly surprised with how layered all of the writing was and highly recommend this show to anyone who is looking for a good laugh with a tinge of honesty.
You're Being Ridiculous closes this week at Gorilla Tango Theater, and is well worth the ticket price. If you're looking for a good way to kick off your Friday night, then this show will not disappoint.
Tickets are available here.
