Playwright tackles themes of sex and class in 'The Escort'

THE ESCORT

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday through May 8.

Where: Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood.

Cost: $47-$77.

Information: 310-208-5454; www.geffenplayhouse.com

Playwright Jane Anderson lives to push buttons.

Her most famous screenplay, "The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom," borrowed from real life to paint a hilarious, harrowing picture of parenthood run amok.

Anderson's plays are just as thematically audacious. "Looking for Normal" gave us a straight-arrow Midwestern husband and father who decides he's a woman trapped in a man's body. "Quality of Life" examined the country's polarized political climate as two couples, one conservative and the other liberal, grapple with their attitudes toward death and the rights of the dying.

Both works debuted at Westwood's Geffen Playhouse, where Anderson's latest play, "The Escort," made its world premiere last week.

True to form, "The Escort" ventures into risky territory: A high-class call girl tests the liberal mores of her doctor as their relationship gets personal and complicated.

Anderson talked last week about "The Escort," her playwriting philosophy, and the challenges of parenting a teenager in the Internet age.

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How did being a parent figure into the themes of this play?

I'm the mother of a 16-year-old boy. I think all of us who've gone through the sexual revolution and felt that all sexuality should be acceptable have had second thoughts once we've had kids. I noticed that my attitude started changing and I didn't quite know why. So I had to start exploring that in a

play.

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A lot of things have changed since you were a teenager. Kids have more access to sexualized material now.

There are things on the Internet that are so graphic. As a parent you have to put some brakes on it. It's a big theme in the play: How do you protect your children and make them understand their burgeoning sexuality without teaching them shame? I come from a generation that was taught to feel shame. My parents were born in 1917 and their view of sexuality was very different from what it is now. I grew up thinking you couldn't talk about it. Of course, that is why the (changing attitudes) happened in the 1960s and '70s. We said, "This is crazy, there's nothing wrong with human sexuality, it's a beautiful thing." Now we've crossed over into a new era where we're questioning that attitude.

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How did you research this play?

It was really important to me that the high-end call girl, Charlotte, be an absolutely sympathetic and believable character. I was introduced by phone to some women in the profession in New Orleans. They told me everything that went on in their business. What struck me was that they had a deep intelligence and understanding about social structure, and they talked about their clients with such a thorough grasp of human psychology. One woman in particular had almost a motherly regard for her clients - a sympathy for these very screwed-up, powerful men.

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How did that knowledge work itself into the character of Charlotte?

Charlotte feels she's doing society a service by allowing these very greedy, terrible men to play out their most damaging fantasies. She thinks it allows them to go back into society and act a little more decently.

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What are Charlotte's goals?

Charlotte desperately wants to cross over into the legitimate world and make a friendship with this lovely upper West Side doctor, who's cultured and smart and respected. For me, the play is as much about class as it is about sex.

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But the doctor crosses over to Charlotte's world, doesn't she?

Yes, briefly. The doctor, Rhona, is divorced; it's hard for her to date. Her main male contact is with her 13-year-old son, who is awful to her because that's the way adolescent boys often are. She's not getting any physical attention and she's starving for it. Charlotte suggests that Rhona use the services of a male escort.

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This play could have been quite explicit, but you've opted for a "naked suit" rather than nudity. Why?

The suits are very artful; they're wonderfully designed by our costume designer. At the beginning, Charlotte addresses the audience directly and shows them the naked suit. I think if the actors had actually been naked it would have defeated the purpose of the play. I've seen some plays where the actors are naked and it's very distracting, especially in a play that's heavy with dialogue and ideas and you want the audience to focus on them. Staring at some actor's (private parts) is not going to do it.

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Why do you like to explore such provocative topics?

If I'm going to spend a year or two of my life opening my vein in front of a computer, it had better be for something big. I write what I like to see on stage, about things that matter to me. That's the beauty of theater and why it's satisfying in a different way than (writing for) movies or television.

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Gabrielle Union Bianca Kajlich Julie Benz Nikki Reed Magdalena Wróbel