LOL: On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog.

I saw a production of Tony Sportiello's dark Internet comedy LOL, some years ago as part of the Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival. I'm pleased to say the script is still as funny as it was, with new additions to keep the references au courant. The new production at Mr. Sportiello's Algonquin Theater is very funny and moving, though suffers at times from the undersized Parker theater space.
In LOL, our protagonist Danny (Andrew Pifko), is a novelist who feels he's not a hit with women. His girlfriend Susan (Joan Pelzer) is leaving him, his boss Larry (John Kevin Jones) thinks his books need more spice. And so his good friends Lois and Jack (Ilene Bergelson and Ethan Cadoff) suggest he go online to find some love, or at least some pointers. Susan concurs, saying that she'd enjoyed some bi-fem rooms herself. Danny can't get into the bi-fem rooms, so he creates a female alter ego, Karen (Nicole Taylor), to penetrate the holy of holies.
She quickly begins to be very popular, seducing women online left and right- her escapades at first begin to help Danny, both in his work and his relationship with Susan, but when Karen demands more and more time online, Danny's life begins to suffer, and he plans a way to do her in. It's a fascinating piece, full of lots of humor and pathos and lots of talk of sex.
Director Duane Boutte does his best with the tiny theater he has to work with- and with environmental staging and help from Natalie Robin's very effective lighting, nearly overcomes the limitations of the space; the staging of the penultimate scene is really startling and impressive.
The whole cast is great- Pifko is quite charming as Danny, making us want to root for him even as he's going round the twist of insanity. Taylor (who's played Karen in previous productions of the play), is hilarious and confident, the perfect caring sexpot. The real standout, however, is Sutton Crawford, the young actress who plays Jenny (Karen's online true love). I saw this girl play two roles a few months ago in Workshop Theater Company's From Russia with Angst, and it's clear she is a great talent. I look forward to more from her in future.

LOL
By Tony Sportiello
Directed by Duane Boutte

The Algonquin Theater
123 E 24th St. NYC 10010

Limited run September 17th - October 4th.

Algonquintheater.org for tickets and information

Picture Credit: RicK Gilbert/skyhookentertainment
Nicole Taylor and Andrew Pifko

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