Annie la Ganga

Photo courtesy of Big Poppa E

Let's Make Love Tonight!

Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Rd., 479-7529

www.hydeparktheatre.org

Jan. 28, 8:30pm

Running time: 1 hr.

What to say about Annie La Ganga's one-woman show? (Well, sort of one-woman show – there's a lot of interaction.) How about this: It wasn't a show. It didn't feel like a show. It takes place at Salvage Vanguard Theater, but because La Ganga seemed to know everyone in the very large audience by name, it felt like someone was talking with me in her living room. Or bedroom would perhaps be more appropriate, since La Ganga told story after story about sexual intimacy. She started by talking about orgies, even suggesting that the audience participate in one with her. But she nixed that, as she wasn't feeling orgy-ready (her time of the month, ya know). At one point, she tells a story about her boyfriend, Billy, letting her do him with a strap-on for her birthday. They did some shopping and then, in anticipation, she walked around thinking of everyone as, according to her, a "hole." Now consider that Billy is her stage manager, and he's up in the booth listening to her talk about doing him with a strap-on. At another point, La Ganga asks Billy what either one of them says when the other talks about leaving, and Billy pipes up with, "I'd go with you!" I laughed, often uproariously, once or twice uncontrollably, for close to an hour. I also felt more than a bit uncomfortable for some of the folks La Ganga questioned, but that's to be expected. It's a show about sexual intimacy, and surprisingly enough, culturally we're still not there yet.