About the Play:

Adult Entertainment is a full-length comedy by Elaine May. This hilarious comedy follows a cast of four adult film stars and one producer as they try to break out of the adult film industry and into legit art movies. The only problem? They don't know anything about art! Adult Entertainment is a wicked spoof of not only of porno movies, but also of pretentious "art" movies.

Adult Entertainment revolves around a series of phone-in shows on cable TV hosted by porn queen Heidi-the-Ho, in which a quartet of porn stars that includes Vixen Fox, Jimbo, and Frosty Moons responds to phone calls. However, a cloud hangs over the porn queen's usually cheery TV show. Her guests are wearing armbands to mourn the passing of their employer and mentor, a legendary porn filmmaker. Tired of working for others, and sick of doing just porn, they wanna make a real movie, with real impact. So this motley group of adult movie veterans decides to write and shoot their own extravaganza, an "art" movie. The script doesn't live up to their expectations so with "art" in mind, they enlist their Yale-educated cameraman to write the script. But when he insists they read the classics to prepare for their roles, unexpected ideas develop as the hilarity escalates bringing the play to a raucous and riotous conclusion, as non-intellectuals are exposed to literature! Although there is no nudity in Adult Entertainment, this bawdy comedy offers some colourful vocabulary and suggestive choreography.

Adult Entertainment premiered in 2002 at the Variety Arts Theatre off-Broadway in New York City. Since then the play has been produced at professional theatres across the US and has been mounted by colleges and fringe theatre groups.

Cast: 3 female, 3 male

What people say:

"Very Funny. You may feel you're overdosing on laughter." — The New York Times

"May's best work... surprises us with humanity in the midst of the ridiculous.... It's the comedy of the year." — New York Post

"The calendar gods knew we needed a laugh! And in this stormy political moment they’re giving us a distracting little porno comedy from Elaine May called Adult Entertainment! A riot!" — The Washington Post

"Wildly funny! A highly enjoyable romp! A brilliant comedic concept – deadpan humor on the adult film industry marries up with mockery of highbrow culture! Fun, fizzy, and surprisingly human!" — Broadway World

"Not just funny but uplifting." — NYTheatre.com

"Only a frenzied comic mind could imagine...this delight...with its giddy, raunchy sense of humor." — Show Business Weekly

About the Playwright:

Elaine May has enjoyed a multifaceted career as a highly regarded writer, director, and performer. She began her career with the comedy troupe Second City, where she first met Mike Nichols. The duo went on to become one of the most successful comedy teams of the day, headlining a year-long run of An Evening With Nichols and May on Broadway. She has also written plays for the stage and was honoured with an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay for the comedy Heaven Can Wait, which she co-wrote with the film's star Warren Beatty.