THE ESCORT
Geffen Playhouse
by Carol Kaufman Segal

In the world premiere of The Escort by Jane Anderson, playing at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, the audience is given notice before the actual production begins; a production that is definitely for mature audiences only. Since nudity is involved in the plot, we are told that this distraction makes it too difficult to stay focused on the action.

Therefore, we are introduced in the beginning to the prosthetic suits to camouflage the actors' own bodies (costumes by Laura Bauer)! The play is set in the Upper Westside of New York.

Rhona (Polly Draper) is a gynecologist, divorced from her urologist husband and raising a teenage son. She and Howard (James Eckhouse) have remained affable. She meets Charlotte (Maggie Siff) when Charlotte arrives for her first-time appointment for a check-up. When filling out Charlotte's statistics, she learns that she is a high class call girl, but finds her to be a very intelligent woman who takes great care of her body. Charlotte is taken with Rhona, pleased to know that she accepts her for who she is and they immediately become friends. Charlotte is free and open about sex, but realizes that Rhona has hang-ups regarding the subject After being referred to Howard for medical reasons and meeting him, Charlotte finds him to be troubled in the same way.

Then she learns that Rhona is having problems with 13-year old Lewis (Gabriel Sunday) who has discovered porn on the internet. She decides it's time she help this family become open-minded about sex. With that goal in mind, everything changes. The question becomes, how far can some people go against their own personalities to become open about sex?

The performers in this sometimes erotic, sometimes very humorous play are superb under the tight direction of Lisa Peterson. James Eckhouse plays several very different characters and does each one to perfection. Gabriel Sunday is great as Rhona's 13-year old belligerent son and then again as he is transforms himself into Matthew, an adult jock. Siff's performance embodies a true high class call girl; Draper, perfect as a more modest, attractive woman. The Escort plays Tuesday through Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 3 PM and 8 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM and 7 PM, through Sunday, May 8, 2011 at the Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Avenue in Westwood Village. Tickets can be purchased at the Geffen Playhouse box office, by phone at (310) 208-5454, or onlline at www.geffenplayhouse.com.

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