For any girl who has ever searched for Mr. Right in a sea of oddballs, this play will resonate, as single girl Lizzy (Annie Hendy) tries to hang on to her Catholic principles formed by listening to a succession of priests and nuns who have indoctrinated her into abstinence before marriage. When she learns that "her priest has a better sex life than she does," she sets about to remedy her virginal state.
Hendy is forthright, spunky, and thoroughly believable as the desperate maiden trying to lose her virginity before her 25th birthday. And Lizzy's task isn't easy. The men she meets are either aggressively libidinous or reluctant to help her consummate her big plan. Basing some of her characters on her own experiences, playwright Hendy contrives a play comically and painfully true to life. While this helps the story along, the frosting on the cake is Cyrus Alexander playing the many men in Lizzy's life.
Through a variety of rapidly performed costume changes, Alexander morphs into such characters as a sleazy lothario, a guy whose cuddle factor ranks higher than sex, a prospective bridegroom who wants one last fling before his wedding the next day, and Jeremy, her best friend. A real standout is Alexander's portrayal of an aged nun whose strictures on masturbation and its road to blindness are demonstrated as she gropes her way across the stage.
Gregg W. Brevoort's tongue-in-cheek direction matches Hendy's sense of comedy, but he also knows when to set a mood for Lizzy's reflections on her hopes and aspirations for something real in her life. Videography by Mark Greczmiel on twin screens adds cleverly to the unfolding story. Keith Mitchell's simple set with a large church window as a backdrop keeps Lizzy's Catholicism ever present, and costume designs by Terri A. Lewis gives Alexander verisimilitude as the many men he portrays.
Billed as sexy and irreverent, this play is a charming confection that uses good humor to point out obstacles on the path to love. This is a script with something for everyone.
Presented by and at the Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Dr., Burbank. Feb. 11–Mar. 6. Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m. (818) 955-8101. www.falcontheatre.com.