Comedy at the theater

I love going to the theater. If I had money to burn, I would go to every show that sounded interesting just to see if it’s worth all the hype. My husband, Tim, on the other hand can take it or leave it. When I ask him to go, he always attends with me without complaint, but he is perfectly fine if I ask someone else to be my plus one.

One compromise we have found are comedy shows. Tim enjoys watching comedy acts, mostly of the stand-up variety. If he’s ever on his phone for an extended period of time, he has usually come across some comedy routine he has found on Facebook or YouTube. Tim’s favorite comedians are all of the guys on the Blue Collar Comedy tour, with Bill Engvall topping the list. I have to agree with him on that, but Jeff Foxworthy is definitely a close second.

We have watched Ron White’s latest special on Netflix “If You Quit Listening, I’ll Shut Up.” He delivers his normal variety of adult-style humor, scotch and cigar in hand. Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy also have a Netflix special “We’ve Been Thinking,” which was released a couple years ago. Jeff easily outshined The Cable Guy. I have never been a huge fan of Larry’s style of comedy, just a personal taste issue. I don’t begrudge anyone who does love his comedy bits, because I do enjoy parts of his act.

My birthday is coming up this Saturday, and Tim has already given me my present: Bill Engvall tickets on Feb. 16 at Stephens Auditorium in Ames. We are both very excited. It’s a perfect blend of my love of theater and Tim’s enjoyment of comedy shows.

Before we head to Story County to enjoy some “Here’s Your Sign” jokes, I had the opportunity to test Tim’s resolve in attending random theater events with me. I got tickets to the comedy show in the Des Moines Performing Arts Temple Comedy Series, “Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man.” Tim didn’t blink an eye when I asked him to go with me, he simply said, “I’d love to be your date.”

The show was extremely funny. It’s loaded with adult humor, something you can glean from the title of the show. I am not always a fan of raunchy humor, but the show delivered in such a way that had my sides splitting with laughter.

“Sex Tips” is a three-person play essentially with lots of audience participation and the Temple Theater is the perfect setting to achieve this. The audience is “invited” to a book discussion with Dan Anderson, the author of the book “Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man” at Sherman Hill Community College. What was supposed to be a traditional book discussion turned into a spectacular display of lights and sound effects as the flamboyant Dan (Sean Hankinson) presents ideas from his book. The very conservative moderator Robyn (Sabrina Sia) is entirely unprepared for the over-the-top antics of Dan. Hankinson and Sia play off of one another perfectly to provide so much humor on stage.

The third character is Stefan (Aaron Latterell), a hunky stagehand who is forced to play the male model in demonstrating some of the book’s tips. Robyn has a giant crush on Stefan and Dan enjoys trying to make her admit to it while discussing the book. It makes for a plethora of funny moments.

“Sex Tips” will by playing at the Temple Theater Tuesdays through Sunday until Feb. 10. It made for a fun date night or you could make it into a ladies night out. Either way, it’s worth checking it out.

Contact Pam Pratt at
pampratt@newtondailynews.com