Sexaholix A Love Story

April 2024 · 6 minute read

It's no wonder John Leguizamo quotes a character in his one-man show saying, "Somebody introduce this boy to decaf." Leguizamo starts on a high note, zig-zagging into view. Some jokes aren't as witty as they could be, but raw, relentless desire to communicate with the crowd overshadow occasional cliches and lapses in the material.

It’s no wonder John Leguizamo quotes a character in his one-man show saying, “Somebody introduce this boy to decaf.” Leguizamo, under Peter Askin’s free and expansive direction, starts on a high note, zig-zagging into view, demonstrating dance routines that define “old school, white school, high school, Colombian school, Mexican school, Puerto Rican school,” then declaring he’s going to get funky and nasty. A wired figure in leather jacket, red shirt and jeans, his observations are always illuminating and insightful, occasionally tipping over into the mean-spirited. Some jokes aren’t as witty as they could be, but his brilliant body language and raw, relentless desire to communicate with the crowd overshadow occasional cliches and lapses in the material.

Related Stories

digital faces VIP+

Generative AI Fueling ‘Exponential’ Rise in Celebrity NIL Rip-Offs: Exclusive Data

397155 06: Mickey Mouse rides in a parade through Main Street, USA with Cinderella's castle in the background at Disney World's Magic Kingdom November 11, 2001 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Disney World, Universal Orlando Theme Park to Close as Florida Braces for Hurricane Milton

“Sexaholix . . . A Love Story” isn’t a particularly appropriate title; Leguizamo is more powerful at projecting rage and aggression than sentiment. He periodically paints himself as a victim, but he is much more a survivor, kicking and screaming against all obstacles. Now happily unmarried — he tells his kids, “I love your mother too much to marry her” — he spins back into a nightmare childhood, momentarily interrupted when he becomes part of a Fresh Air Fund program in which ghetto kids are taken into wealthy homes just long enough to feel deprived about their own circumstances. After his parents’ divorce, he goes to live with his grandparents and gets more depressing input from his grandfather: “Living is about pain, misery, failure and Budweiser.”

Popular on Variety

The show is strongest when Leguizamo examines his often gruesome romantic relationships. At 21, he moved in with Penny, a 40-year-old divorcee who did a performance film, “Castrated Males and the Women Who Love Them.” Upon hearing she was pregnant, he gasped, “Are you sure it’s yours?” Another girlfriend, Evelyn the Stripper, proved less than a mental giant, informing him, “You know what I got on my SATs? Nail polish.” When he cried out, “You’re supposed to love me no matter what,” the response was, “You must be confusing me with Jesus.”

Leguizamo isn’t afraid to confront male insecurities, citing an instance when a woman told him contemptuously that he was “small,” and his forays into sexual fear and clumsiness touch on universal truths about the masculine experience. He also humorously exposes the narcissism of so many men when the love of his life, Teenie, suggests having children and he answers, “We don’t need kids. We have me!”

After a lively second act opening, in which Leguizamo does a sizzling dance with a girl in the audience, he takes clever jabs at therapy and reminisces about his early struggles as an actor, a career that started inauspiciously when he ran up against bad reviews. The tone changes here, with graphic descriptions of his difficulties taking care of his senile grandfather. Pacing of this portion is off, and there’s a ponderous darkness about it that makes the upbeat reconciliation with his one true love welcome and dramatically necessary. The birth of his son ends the production with painful honesty, when he realistically reflects that he’s going to inevitably do things to mess up his child’s life.

Jump to Comments

Sexaholix — A Love Story

Ahmanson Theater; 1,600 seats; $60 top

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXF%2FjqWcoKGkZL%2Bmwsierqxno5rForTOpaCxZZFiubDCxGaqraeirnpyfo9pbG1qaGiAcA%3D%3D