Rating : 5 Stars
Many people are shy to talk about sex, but Melissa Duprey is not one of those people. Duprey starred in Sexomedy, a one woman comedy piece that was part of SOLO TRES, a series of three solo shows that ran from Oct.18-Nov18. SOLO TRES was presented by Teatro Luna, Chicago’s first all -Latina theatre which was started in 2000 with the desire to change the lack of representation of Latina/Hispanic stories in theatre.
Teatro Luna, located at 3914 N. Clark St. is easily accessible via the Irving or Clark CTA bus routes. The theatre has a hole in the wall feel to it and a student may walk right past it if they weren’t looking close enough. Its small space and staff make the theatre susceptible to technical mishaps. During the show, there were a few audio glitches. However, small establishments tend to have the most charm and biggest sense of community and this over ruled any technical glitch.
The theatre’s small stage allowed a sense of intimacy between the performer and audience which can sometimes be hard to experience in larger venues. The price, $20 but with a student I.D is $15, was also was more reasonable than at a large venue. Attendees could also treat themselves to drinks at the in-house bar.
The character and theme of Sexomedy was present from the start. While waiting for the show to start, Prince’s “Darling Nikki”, Color Me Badd’s “I Want to Sex You Up” and George Michael’s “ I Want Your Sex” played along with the likes of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” and Salt –n- Pepa’s “Whatta Man.” This playlist, made up of some of the most well known baby-making songs, was a fun and quirky way to start the show.
Melissa Durpey, a comedian with Teatro Luna, did not waste time with introductions once she walked onto the stage. From talks of how women should be able to masturbate “within six minutes or less”, blind dates and  the conflicts of shaving in the shower which she called “shower aerobics”, Duprey presented an unashamed, bold and hilarious scope into the sexuality of women.
Sexomedywasn’t only good for side splitting laughs, but also presented questions about femininity and the lengths women go through in order to be attractive to the opposite sex. On the topic of waxing and shaving, Duprey opens up about how women place pressure on themselves not to have body hair.
She humorously expressed how men usually don’t care whether women are hairless or not. Instead, it’s women who stress over waxing and shaving their legs daily. Women tend to go through extremes to be sexually attractive, though most of the time their efforts are unnecessary. At one point in the show, Duprey asked the men in the audience if they cared whether or not their partners had body hair, and most of the men said no.
During the intermission, a video played and showed Duprey talking with random strangers in the Wicker Park neighborhood. She asked drunken men if they cared about women having body hair and also asked women if size really mattered.
The audio in the film had too much background noise, which made it hard to hear the stranger’s response to Duprey’s questions. However, the lack of quality sound did not take away the humor of the intermission video.
One may think that since Sexomedy is a one woman comedy show that men would not be able to enjoy it. The audience may have had more women than men, but when the room erupted in laughter, it wasn’t just females chuckling.
After talking to some of the male attendees after the show, they said that it was both funny and enlightening. They were mostly surprised at how much women put themselves through while getting ready for a date and also had no idea about the “shower aerobics” women partake in.
Whether male or female, Sexomedy provided lessons and laughs. For those who have had humorous sexual mishaps, awkward blind dates or who just enjoy bold and unapologetic humor, Melissa Duprey won’t disappoint.
Even though SOLO TRES has passed, students can still enjoy what Teatro Luna has to offer. A Very Luna Christmas will be playing soon. For more information and their Seasonal calendar, check out http://teatroluna.org/.