Adult Entertainment

Bialystock and Bloom theater company bills itself as "Milwaukee's Guilty-Pleasure Theater," and this production is right up its ... alley. Adult Entertainment is a lighthearted spoof about porn stars who long to do some REAL acting. However, their goal is not only to stretch their acting abilities, but also to show off their ... assets, as well.

Written by comedienne Elaine May, the show had a New York run at Variety Arts Theater in 2002. Perhaps a more seasoned cast than the one in Milwaukee could have succeeded in mining genuine laughs from the dialogue.

That's not to say Adult Entertainment fails to amuse. Life changes dramatically for these porn actors once a snotty-nosed Yale graduate is hired to write a script for their film. In preparation for their upcoming roles, the actors must read great literature. This requires a gigantic leap of faith on the audience's part. One must believe this cast of dimwits is now able to quote Flaubert, Yeats, Byron, Faulkner and Thornton Wilder. Not only must the actors read, read and read, they also must use their improvisational skills during rehearsals. When one of the improvs involves a nautical theme, one of the women remarks about a fellow cast member, "I thought he was very authentic (as a captain) -- and I've been with a lot of sailors." Ba-da-boom.

Ultimately, this show proves that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Multimedia aspects heighten the show's appeal. In this intimate, black box theater setting, the cast is literally surrounded by dozens of TV monitors. Sometimes, a cameraperson is onstage to "film" the action, particularly during episodes of the risque cable-TV talk show, "Heidi the Ho." (This was modeled on an actual TV program that once aired in the New York.) The rest of the cast appears as Heidi's "guests" during various episodes. Once they've gotten a few literary volumes under their belts, however, the show turns into a boring book club discussion. At this point, the frequent video clips of the cast's past porn performances provide welcome comic relief. (One of these, called "Between Her Legs," is clever. However, the best of these is an inspired adult version of "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory").

Although this comedy does not feature onstage sex or nudity, the dialogue and film clips are reason enough to keep young kids away from the appropriately named Adult Entertainment.