Advertisement

Well, it's different: Porn stars are doing stand up comedy this weekend in St. Pete

 
The cast of Andrea Lepcio's Strait of Gibraltar, which runs at American Stage May 25 to June 17, 2018, includes (from left) Chris Jackson, Jordan Mann and Mari Vai-Golden. Joey Clay Photography.
The cast of Andrea Lepcio's Strait of Gibraltar, which runs at American Stage May 25 to June 17, 2018, includes (from left) Chris Jackson, Jordan Mann and Mari Vai-Golden. Joey Clay Photography.
Published May 23, 2018

IF YOU SAY SO: PORN STARS ARE COMEDIANS

Well, it's different. Porn Stars Are Comedians extends the concept of the podcast Porn Stars Are People ("the only podcast with porn stars where we don't discuss porn or the business of porn"), hosted by Dan Frigolette at a local "adult playground for the fast and furious."

Frigolette has opened for other comedians and done a little acting.

"I got the opportunity to play Unnamed Gangster No. 7 on Boardwalk Empire," he told the Saratogian. "If you watch Season 5, you can always find me holding an accessory I've never used before and staring directly into the camera."

Comedian Mia Faith Hammond, right, who won last year's Make Me Laugh Albany competition at age 19, co-hosts. Trying their hand at comedy are "sensual sadist" Raquel Roper and Maria Marley, who makes videos about her feet. 8 p.m. Friday at 4 Play After Dark, 10387 Gandy Blvd., St. Petersburg. $25. (727) 577-3333. pornstarsarepeople.com.

AMERICAN STAGE: STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR

Strait of Gibraltar might start off as a romance, about a young American woman who meets a Moroccan man at a party and falls in love. But the new play by Andrea Lepcio takes a sharp turn when Sameer tells Miriam he is undocumented. Suspicions of terrorism arise. A feel-good story suddenly has federal agents and guards in it.

Lepcio said she was taken aback in 2013 by a news report about the powers of the Patriot Act.

"I wrote the play to come to understand what this law has done to our society," she said.

Director Jim Sorensen said the production at American Stage should keep audiences guessing. At the same time, Strait of Gibraltar provokes questions about the assumptions we make, especially when fear intervenes. Stars Jordan Mann as Miriam Rosenberg and Joe Joseph as Sameer Fakhoury. Runs Friday through June 17. 163 Third St. N, St. Petersburg. $39 and up. Previews start at 7 today (pay what you can at the door, $20 in advance), and 8 p.m. Thursday ($29). (727) 823-7529. For showtimes, go to americanstage.org.

FLORIDA ORCHESTRA: PATRIOTIC SALUTE

Jeff Tyzik conducts Patriotic Salute, the Florida Orchestra's final concert of the year. The Memorial Day theme features some of America's most popular composers, from John Philip Sousa to John Williams. Starts at 8 p.m. Friday at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N MacInnes Place, Tampa; and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S, St. Petersburg. $15-$45. (727) 892-3337. floridaorchestra.org.

SEVEN YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: STRAZ 2018-19

The Straz Center has released its full season listings, and there are some hidden attractions. Violinist Lucia Micarelli, above (Sept. 29), can play classical to Appalachian folk dances with feeling. The United States Navy Band Commodores (Nov. 6) bring their Big Band with acrobatic and dance troupe Diavolo (Nov. 17) close on their heels. National Theatre Live streams Young Marx (Nov. 25) straight from London, describing the title role as "a frothing combination of intellectual brilliance, invective, satiric wit and child-like emotional illiteracy." Broadway star LaChanze (Feb. 28) packages all that talent into a cabaret show. For something different, National Geographic LIVE! — Wild Seas, Secret Shores (April 2) takes you around the world with undersea photographer Thomas Peschak. Finally, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (April 5), an all-male ballet company, promises an evening well beyond drag, achieving its comic aims "by incorporating and exaggerating the foibles, accidents, and underlying incongruities of serious dance."