Theatre Oxford presents Love, Sex & the I.R.S. at The Powerhouse February 19 – 22

Let’s all laugh about taxes this year.

Oxford, Miss. (TLV) – Instead of getting all stressed out about money this tax season, try laughing out loud instead. Theatre Oxford, our local community theatre, will present performances of Love, Sex and the I.R.S. from the 19th through the 22nd of this month, and tax time has never been funnier.

The plot centers around male roommates Jon Trachtman (played by W.D. Frank) and Leslie Arthur (played by Zachary Duane) who are out-of-work musicians. Jon has been claiming the “couple” as a married pair on his tax returns to save a few dimes, and sees trouble coming when he finds that I.R.S. representative Floyd Spinner (played by Andy Douglas, who also is responsible for the play’s set design) wants to audit their books.

So Leslie begins the charade of masquerading in drag as Jon’s housewife, with a little help from Jon’s fiancée Kate Dennis (played by Shalisa Craine). Kate and Jon are scheduled to be married in two weeks.

Meanwhile, Kate has been having an affair with Leslie behind Jon’s back, and Jon’s mother (played by Ines Joris) makes an ill-timed visit to meet her son’s fiancee.

To make matters more complicated, the nosy, cranky landlord, Mr. Jansen (played by Bill Dabney), keeps stopping by, and he doesn’t allow unmarried couples in his building. And Leslie’s estranged girlfriend Connie (played by Jaime Adams) shows up wanting to know why Leslie is acting strange and won’t see her anymore.

The play was written in 1979 as a collaboration between Jane Milmore and Billy van Zandt and is set in 1970s New York City. Jim Shollenberger is directing the play, and Marquis Sledge is producing. Love, Sex and the I.R.S. has been described as “a cross between I Love Lucy and Some Like It Hot.”

Performances on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (February 19 through 21) will be at 7:30 pm. The Sunday show (February 22) is set for 2 pm. All shows will be at the YAC Powerhouse at the corner of University Avenue and South 14th Street. Tickets are $10 for Theatre Oxford members, senior citizens, and those with high school or college I.D., and $15 for all others. Tickets can be purchased online at TheatreOxford.com and at the show by cash or credit/debit card.

This close to tax time, wouldn’t it make us all smile just a little to see an I.R.S. representative get knocked out by a virgin who’s just trying to protect her purity? We think so, and we hope to see you there. Can’t make it to this particular play? Theatre Oxford still has two productions to go in this season. No Exit (by existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre) will be performed from April 17–19. And on May 5 we’ll see readings from the 15th annual Ten Minute Play Contest, where the finalists will be presented and this year’s Grand Prize Winner will be named.

See you at the show! 

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This article was originally printed in The Local Voice #222 (published February 5, 2015.)
To download a PDF of this issue, click here.