THE PLAY: A lesbian talks about her love and lust for strippers (with some explicit moments). This is the East Coast premiere of this one-woman show that ranges from political diatribe to memoir.

 

THE PRODUCTION: Eva DeVirgilis brings energy and life to this woman. Her ability to create “supporting” characters and mime subtle physicality elevates the script, which (ironically, given Eva’s recent past) feels more like a TED talk than a play. The character explains, more than experiences, which means that it lacks much emotional connection. Most of the punch lines come from the projections. DeVirgilis is comfortable interacting with the audience and pulls off an impressive strip. Her robust performance almost conceals the fact that this play is unimaginative. Dexter M. Ramey’s direction is adequate without being inspired and the set by T. Ross Aiken lacks any artistic appeal. Andrew Bonniwell’s lighting adds visual variety and a strip club ambience (I wasn’t sure if some areas were underlit or cues were missed).

 

THE POINT: Without Eva DeVirgili’s robust performance, this flat play and production has a limited appeal.

 

(3 / 5)

 

At Richmond Triangle Players thru 5/17