Review: F**KING MEN at The Bent

Joe DiPietro’s play f-ing Men explores the different dynamics between men and the thrill of anonymous sex. The comic throughline of “Why do we bang strangers? Because it feels fantastic!” propels the action, and comedy carries the night but buried underneath are some deeper emotions, and complicated situations. When the opportunity to have a meaningless encounter occurs, there is always discussion leading up to it, but there is always an encounter because… see title.

Do I think this play is gripping, or deep or has something new to say? No. Did I care? I did not. I had a fantastic time. It's great entertainment - hilarious porn without the actual porn, and Director Steve Rosenbaum’s peek-a-boo staging along with its perfect pace allows each character to take shape in small vignettes without lingering melodramatically on deeper emotions written into the words of the play. He keeps us laughing as we follow the journey of these gay men navigating or dominating in a world of random sex with random men, but we also get to know a little bit about the men and their “why” other than “it’s fun!” 

The performances are incredibly watchable, and I’ll get to that in a hot second, but first let’s talk about the production as a whole. 

Jason Reale’s set design is basically a black box stage with large black building blocks and can be whatever it needs to be: a park, a bedroom, a coat check, etc. It’s perfect for this play’s quirky production design which I’ll get to next.

One of my all around favorite comedy devices was used to its greatest effect: actors who are both prop masters and are, themselves, props on the occasion. This hilarious device is woven seamlessly throughout the production, however none of these ubiquitous actions cause disruption on stage, but we, as audience members, are having a grand time with it. Nice directing by Rosenbaum, and smooth job with attitude by actors Kai Brothers (Man 1); Scott Hill (Man 2).

Ronny Borrelli (John, Kyle, Ryan) creates a lot of energy each time he steps on stage, from a sex worker to a kid in need of a tutor, each character has its own distinct flavor in Borrelli’s hands. This is my first time seeing him on stage (or anywhere), and although I have now seen all of him, I look forward to seeing him in other roles, naked or less naked - I don’t care. Some good work from Borrelli showed up on that stage.

Jason Reale (Steve, Jack, Brandon) and Terry Ray (Leo, Donald) lay down solid work in their roles, but Alex Price (Marco, Sammy) commands the stage with every character he portrays. You feel the “oh no!” of his temptation, followed by some big laughs as he tries to stop his libido from crossing a line. When he compromises himself for a chance at stardom, we ache with the betrayal and beyond. He is highly watchable, and has given standout performances every time I see him. 

A few tech difficulties at the matinee, but I will add that, particularly for a small space, Nathan Cox has created a very different a/v experience with a column on each side of the stage that not only displays which characters we are currently seeing on stage, but also as use for several introductory character moments (although, I found it a bit difficult to keep up due to those few tech glitches at the start.) 

I do not recall a moment that was poorly lit, and the backlighting for the “extras” worked so well I almost forgot to notice. TL;DR: Mariah Pryor’s lights do just what they’re supposed to do. 

Is f-ing Men worth seeing? Abso-f’ing-lutely. It’s a raucously good time, with a little nudity, and a lot of laughs. And, I think, a few future DTL nominations. 

Recommended.

Tickets: https://thebent.org/buy-tickets/

Production

Producers: Terry Ray, Steve Rosenbaum

Director: Steve Rosenbaum

Stage Manager: Jason Mannino

Production Manager: Kudra Wagner

Production Design

Set Design & Construction: Jason Reale

Lighting Design: Mariah Pryor

Sound Design: Damian Jesus Mercado

Costume Designer: Cheryln Lanning

Projections: Nathan Cox

Props: Steve Rosenbaum, Jason Mannino

Assistant to Ms. Lanning: Cynthia Sterling

Tech Board Op: Shelby Winstead

Graphic Artist: Jason Reale

Box Office: J. Clare Merritt

Production Photographer: Nathan Cox

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