Image courtesy of Capital Fringe
#SEXTS is listed in the Fringe directory as a comedy, and anyone that has ever sent an autcorrected flub can attest to the unintentional humor that comes from operating smartphones. (I, for example, once accidentally told a soccer teammate that I was “On my warthog” rather than “On my wayyyy.”) But this isn’t a play that centers on erotic texts sent to the wrong person, awkward Grindr meetups, or wanting to smash your smartphone into oblivion. All of those things happen over the course of the play, but the heart of the story centers on the changing lives of a group of 30-something friends and most of those tales are more poignant than laugh-inducing.
The wedding wherein we meet the characters gives us a vague sense of their relationship to each other. Blake (Erik Harrison) is apparently THAT GUY at social events with alcohol (the one that needs to be walked home) and his girlfriend Janet (Emily Mullin) is an ambitious woman bound for London whose dirty texts with Blake apparently make for scandalous wedding table talk. Quirky Vicky (Rebecca Fischler) and rock star-esque Cassie (Erica Smith) share all of their secrets with each other and the latter has been dating Dean (Eric Cline) for awhile. Theoretically Ryan (Michael Silver) is the one around whom this group revolves but he is the one character that does not have any discernible personality traits. Harrison plays the drunk to great comedic effect and it’s very easy to empathize with recently dumped Vicky, but the rest of the crew don’t stand out for some time—or ever.
However, the opening scene gives a far better introduction to the funniest device of the play—the “Phones.” Margaret Brown and Michael Reilly stood up and spoke primarily in monotone (appropriate—as readers ultimately imply any emotion that comes through the screen) whenever the characters sent texts to each other. Reilly swapped out monotone for a Long Island whine to also vocalize Blake’s mother —a necessary move since Blake was texting both her and Janet simultaneously. Still, hearing acronyms pronounced phonetically and innuendo said with a deadpan made me wish that the Phones were utilized more.
Other than that, the funniest character in the play was Janet’s spaced out London roommate Stella. As Janet and Blake’s relationship predictably deteriorates, Stella reacts to Janet’s dramatic tears with utter confusion (“I heard Americans like to cry a lot”) and off-the-wall pick-me-ups (a vampire/goth party) that are a much needed break from the heavy life changes that populate the better part of the hour.
After the wedding, the show gets heavy and it gets heavy quickly. All of the reactions of the main characters are true to life and mercifully, everyone avoids over-acting. But when a pregnancy that stems from a one-night stand with a regrettable partner is one of the show’s lighter moments, that’s saying something. Cline develops dimension very quickly as a man coming to grips with his mother’s imminent demise with a wide and believable range of emotions. The final conversation he has with her via Skype is honest and beautiful and heartbreaking.
There’s a little bit too much going on in #SEXTS, so not all of the relationships are fully explored. But while there are plenty of humorous moments (and dick pics —of course there are dick pics), the true saving grace of the play is that depictions of the characters’ life changing events are realistic and not overwrought.
#SEXTS is showing at Logan Fringe Arts Space: Trinidad Theatre. Remaining performances are:
Tonight at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 25th at 6:30 p.m.
See here for more of DCist’s Fringe 2015 reviews.
