WORKING STIFFS

An unapologetically bawdy comedy
that delivers laughs with plenty of cheek

The cast of Making Porn

Palm Springs’ Prism Theatre has selected Ronnie Larsen’s Making Porn as its second production for its permanent downtown home. Larsen first produced his play in 1995, and Palm Springs was one of the stops before its 500-performance Off-Broadway run, which started in 1996. The intimate 60-seat Prism Theatre ensures there are no bad seats, proving to be an ideal fit for the material.

Maurizio Bandi

The play is set in the early 1980s, as the gay porn industry was defining its boundaries. Arthur (Maurizio Bandi) is a high-energy gay man who produces, writes, directs, and occasionally acts in his own films. He decides to produce a new gay film about cops. He tells his assistant, Jamie (Peter Kalisch), to get veteran porn star Ray Tanner (Drew Sebastian) for the movie, regardless of the cost.

Maurizio Bandi and Peter Kalisch

Our first glimpse of Tanner finds him naked in bed with Ricky (Ryan Avoux), fulfilling the show’s promise of full-frontal nudity. Their casual fling is interrupted when Jamie enters and offers Tanner a role in Arthur’s next movie, even though Tanner demands the unheard-of amount of $2,500. When Ricky hears how much his bedmate is earning, he decides that he wants to be in porn as well.

Ryan Avoux and Peter Kalisch

We then meet Jack (Sean Timothy Brown), an aspiring actor who hasn’t managed to land any significant roles. While helping to select an outfit for his next audition, his wife Linda (Mallory Kerwin) encourages him to persevere. Jack then goes to a series of auditions that tip us off as to why he isn’t landing any roles—he stinks!

Sean Timothy Brown and Mallory Kerwin

Jack reads an ad in the paper for a role in a gay porn feature and arranges a meeting with Arthur, who is producing it. There, he explains that he is straight but willing to pleasure himself on film. That’s his limit. Arthur is smitten by him and tells Jack he wants to cast him, but expects him to do a lot more than masturbate on camera. Each time Jack says, “No,” the offer goes up. Eventually, Jack blurts out, “$2,000,” thinking it will be out of range, but Arthur immediately accepts.

Like many plays from the ’90s, Making Porn is written in dozens of short scenes, some just two or three minutes long. Director Lance Phillips employs a unit set with a clothes rack, a bed, and a high-boy table. He effectively transforms these areas into various bedrooms, movie studios, a bar, and more.

Ryan Avoux, Maurizio Bandi, and Sean Timothy Brown

Larsen’s script elicits plenty of laughs and engagingly titillating situations. There are storylines involving a romance between the producer and his assistant Jamie, who then falls for Jack, but the most interesting story is this straight actor doing porn when he really wants to do Shakespeare.

Unlike many plays, the second act is a lot more interesting than the first, mostly because it leans on the three strongest actors: Brown, Kerwin, and Bandi. When Linda demands to join Jack on the set of what he told her was “an educational film,” he is finally forced to disclose that he’s working in gay porn. Rather than flee, she sees an opportunity and ends up having more balls than any of the men in the story. The scenes between her and her husband, and between her and the producer, are the strongest in the play, surprising and damned funny.

Mallory Kerwin

During its touring days and Off-Broadway run, Making Porn has always featured a recognizable porn actor as Ray Tanner. Among them were Blue Blake, Rex Chandler, and Ryan Idol. The Prism production features Drew Sebastian. He certainly has a few hundred porn credits under his belt, but, in all honesty, those movies were made 20 years and 40 pounds ago. However, his energy onstage is infectious, and he literally works his backside off to engage the audience.

Making Porn

Prism is really using its new venue to the fullest. Making Porn continues through August 2. It alternates with The Book of Merman through July 26 (delightful Kerwin also plays Ethel in The Book of Merman). They are presenting The Raw Dog Naked Comedy Festival on July 2 and 3; tickets are already selling briskly. Seating at Prism is on three sides of the stage at small cocktail tables, with a full bar available, making it a terrific venue for sipping cocktails while seeing cock and tails.

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photos courtesy of Prism Theatre

Making Porn
Prism Theatre
391 N. Indian Canyon Dr. in Palm Springs, CA
100 minutes including one intermission
Thurs & Fri at 8; Sat at 3
ends on August 2, 2026
for tickets, visit Prism Theatre

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