Sex. Let's admit it - it's everyone's favorite topic to discuss, so why not discuss it in a book and then adapt it to the stage? How could you go wrong with a play about sex? As long as you're with the right company, this "plot" can be fun and exciting and even potentially reveal much about a person or society. The performance of My Secret Garden by Eric Krebs Productions is the new Off-Broadway play which dramatizes Nancy Friday's infamous book of the same title. Watching the performance takes you back to 1973 where the sexual revolution is still in full swing, but women's comfort level with their own sexuality is not.
My Secret Garden cleverly puts a voice behind the creation of Friday's influential book. It discusses the barriers Friday encounters, as well as the ultimate liberation she helped create for women, while on her quest to learn of and inform others about this sexual right all women had.
In addition to a good story line, My Secret Garden offers a unique snapshot look back to the not so distant past. The play opens with Friday (Mimi Quillin) running into wall after wall about the existence of the female sexual fantasy. Women from every walk of life staunchly admit they don't have them. Even Friday's therapist (Lyn Philistine) laughs at Friday's notion of sexual fantasy.
"Women don't have fantasies," the therapist motherly tells Friday, "you only think we have them." To this, Friday fires back with her argument from the beginning – every woman has fantasies, it's just that "we've never given ourselves permission to acknowledge them."
Fast forward 30 plus years and it's difficult to imagine such a computerized image of a sexual woman who is only made to satisfy her man and not consider her own sexual needs. It's even harder to grasp that other women confirmed this image of themselves to Friday. In days where women who confidently discuss sex, masturbation and the like are a dime a dozen, the performance of My Secret Garden is a good reason to check the rear view mirror to see just how far women have come.
Overall, the cast of Mimi Quillin, Jane Blass, Lyn Philistine and McKenzie Fry is great and the writing of Nancy Friday and Christopher Scott is splendid. Although several scenes filled with every kind of four-letter word out there may make you squirm a bit at first, there is a definite message My Secret Garden aims to tell and does it without fault. The character of Friday learns how various experiences in one's life correlates with the kind of sexual fantasy a person creates. Friday ponders that a "rape" fantasy provides an outlet for the "good girl to still be good while getting the sex she wants." Fantasies involving mothers can be considered a reflection of the competition the mother-daughter relationship may have endured. What's refreshing is through it all, Friday never takes herself, or her subject, too seriously. Although there are times when her objective outlook becomes tainted, overall, Friday acknowledges the fantasies are just exactly that – fantasies, but, important nonetheless. For every person there is a fantasy to match; the vital part of this process is the actual acknowledgement of it.
Friday is also a character that who includes herself "within" the sexual movement rather than ahead of it. In one scene, Friday reflects to herself, "…don't they understand - I mean, don't WE understand - that it's alright to admit sexual fantasies?" In a play about a well known author, written in part by a well known author, it's easy for this character to become preachy and all-knowing, but My Secret Garden never takes that route. The portrayal of Friday delivers a likeable, confident character that pushes the "female lib" envelope to an acceptable level, rather than going overboard. What could have easily become a glorified "pat on the back," instead offers an enjoyable slice of history with an important message to tell – and one you'll want to listen to. Sex sells for sure, but My Secret Garden is about much more than just that.
My Secret Garden is playing through March 11th at the 45th Street Theatre on 45th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. Please call 212-868-4444 for tickets or visit www.SmartTix.com.
