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LOL

nytheatre.com review by Pamela Butler
August 15, 2005

The Internet is certainly the subject of more than one FringeNYC offering this year, and in this case we get a brisk, funny, and imaginative foray into online sex. The protagonist, Danny, chemistry guru turned romance novelist, tells us in advance that we’re in for lots and lots of it. Yes, Tony Sportiello’s LOL is all about sex online, from inside the bi-fem chat rooms of the WWW.Poor Danny. This is not a boy meets girl, boy gets girl, etc., kind of story. He just can’t get laid. When he discovers that girls are getting it on with girls online, he does what any curious but uninvited male might do—he dons a female persona and plunges ahead. Thus Karen comes into being, Danny’s 32-year-old, 115-pound, blonde, 36-24-36, female alter ego.Karen, summoning all of Danny’s romantic talent and then some, becomes the wow of the Net, having more invites to go private than she can handle. In fact she’s so popular that Danny gives her more and more time to manage her social life, while he loses sleep, relinquishes work, and not so gradually becomes overwhelmed by her, to the point where the two of them are battling for control. He cannot even visit old friends without her popping off her mouth at inappropriate times and pulling him back to his/her addiction.The cast, staging, and production make this romp sparkle. Greg Skura’s Danny is both nebbishy and empathetic, but not impossible to see as a love interest. In a Pygmalion twist, Nicole Taylor animates Danny’s fem side, Karen, with pixie energy. She gathers zesty strength and speed to nearly swallow her creator whole. She’s a dynamo, but takes nothing away from CK Allen as Larry, Danny’s book agent; Jed Dickenson and Heather Gornal as his minimally sexual friends Michael and Janice; and Debra Whifield as his obnoxious ex-girlfriend Susan. Karen Swenson Riely gives a poignant and heartfelt portrait of the fragile Jenny, Karen’s online love interest. The direction and staging by Jerry Less keep the action fluid and light, ensuring the audience is amused and entertained. Jeff Bender choreographs the physical disputes with skill. LOL.The play itself is at loose ends and winds up a bit heavy for the style and subject matter. How Danny finally deals with the monster he has created is left up in the air, although suggestively so. What happens to Jenny is somewhat predictable and I found myself fending it off, hoping for a comic, clever twist. LOL is billed as a cautionary tale, but the tale, beyond the delicious creation of Karen and what she does to Danny, is secondary to the characters. Nevertheless, an evening well spent.