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One Night Stands, The Sex Comedies began as the second half of a program of one acts last June.  Nearly a year later it continues in expanded form as a sort of “late night” entry playing during “prime time” hours (sans the two musicals which completed the original program). 

StageSceneLA’s June 2007 review called it “a series of skits about sex, introduced by a sexy (and very ribald) Brandelynn Turner,” adding that “though the writing is uneven, the young and very attractive performers do titillate and amuse the audience with their uninhibited energy.” The cast has mostly changed, but the uninhibited energy and the numerous laughs remain.

Turner is back, as bawdy as ever in spangled ballerina garb, drinking rum and caffeine free Pepsi from separate bottles, telling the audience to “walk a mile in my shit” as she plays (oh so nasty) cupid to a potpourri of skits performed by a troupe of young actors.

The sketches have an improv (“Hey, we wrote this ourselves!”) quality, but almost all are the brainchildren of director Paul Storiale. Though not for everyone’s taste, and certainly not for children, the playlets offer more laughs (and gasps) than groans and serve as a showcase for the cast’s looks and comedic talent.

Here’s just a taste of each of the skits, all of which take place in the same hotel room set and in the same bed (oh the germs!).

1) A boy wants to get “down and dirty” but his partner protests “I’m a Christian girl!”  Turns out she’s just quoting from the movie Saved, and in fact can’t stop from responding to his advances with famous lines from films. “You sly dog!” she tells him.  “You’ve got me monologuing!” 

2) Two actors (m. & f.) rehearse a scene in a small theater, so small, states the director, that “you can cheat to the back and they’ll still see your face.”  “If I kiss you I’ll want more,” says one to the other, and before you know it, they’ve got their shirts off and…

3) A girl tells her handsome partner, “You look nice,” to which he responds, “I have to.  I’m a model. My TJ Max ad just came out.  It was in yesterday’s Burbank Ledger.” And later, “I was at home working on my modeling when you called me.”  

4) A hotel desk clerk stops by a just arrived guest’s room to check up on how she’s doing. He leaves briefly, during which time she begins to pleasure herself in bed.  Not for long, however, as the clerk has returned in bathrobe and wanting a shower. Talk about room service.

5) A boy and girl wake up in a hotel room and neither knows who the other is.  “Did we?” “Yeah, we did.” In fact there’s evidence in the bed that they did indeed do the deed, though when she finds out his name, she declares, “I would never go to bed with a Ryan.”  Not with a Brian either.  “Brians are liars and they suck in bed.”

6) (One for the lesbians.) Two girls find themselves in bed, though only one of them speaks.  “What’s wrong with me?  Girls come sleep with me and they leave.” She goes on to “share” with her partner about her sister’s new baby (among other family details) all the while the other seems to be trying to escape from this chatterbox.

7) (One for the gays.) Two guys in bed, one of whom tells the other, “That was amazing! That was like an explosion of joy in my anus!” But no post-coital cuddling for his partner, who declares in a Spanish accent, “I don’t really like to be touched,” and then informs the enthusiastic bottom, “I have STDs.” “As in many?” “Two.” Has he been tested?  No. “I just wait for my lovers to get tested and I know what’s wrong with me.”

8) A screaming couple are doing it in bed, after which the girl declares, “I haven’t had sex like that for a long time! You’re huge! I’m married so I’ve probably only had sex twice before.  Once was with my dad. (pause)  Just kidding. Don’t you like after-sex jokes?”  Just the beginning of a virtual one-woman show by a funny/quirky Debbie Lockhart. 

9) A couple enters the room passionately kissing.  He: “I’m not usually like this.” She: “I’m not a whore!” He strips down to skimpy briefs and starts doing push-ups before jumping into bed with her. A series of lights down/lights up reveals the couple in various amusing sexual positions and at one point he adjusts himself revealing more than was probably in the script

Between each skit, a variety of maids, each costumed differently and all played by the outrageous Matthew Valle, enter in near darkness to straighten up the room.

Highlighting Sunday’s performance was songstress Kelly Meyersfield, whose innocent air and bubble-gum melodies make her X-rated lyrics come as quite a surprise.  Her first song is “You Can Just Pull Out” aka “Accidental Daddy,” about a girl who tells her boyfriend, “I got infected by your precum, and it wasn’t even like you came!” She later introduces herself as Ani, short for “Anal Wart,” before she sings a cautionary “Don’t touch my anus, cause I’ve got something to hide,” and informs us that, sadly, she’s had to “lock up the back door.”  Her third and final number is “I Did It Because He Made Me.”

Writer/director Storiale keeps the pacing swift, and the cast, who fill up the front row of the theater, get to enjoy the other skits along with the audience and provide a built-in laugh track/cheering section.

In addition to the aforementioned, One Night Stands stars (in no particular order) Tristyn Curtiss, Aydrea ten Bosch, Eric Lordan, Nicholas Leiting, Anny Taormina, Justin Stevenson, Bridgett Patchen, Jamie Dawson, Kyle Yaskin, Heather Morrisoe, Daniel Cooley, Jason Roose, Jillian Nelson, Kim Kita, Shelby Janes, Anisa Alamia, Dean Flagg, and Storiale. One Night Stands was created by Storiale and written by Storiale with Jack Zullo, Josh Jaques, and Kyle Yaskin.  Set and lighting are by Jack Millard. 

The Avery Schreiber Theatre, 11050 Magnola Blvd. North Hollywood.

–Steven Stanley
April 6, 2008
Photos: Paul Storiale