When the kids are away, the parents will play.
The good people at 1812 Productions are opening their new season with “The First Day of School: A Soccermom Sex Farce.”
The title says it all. But just in case you haven’t picked up on what this production is about, here’s a hint.
“There’s this whole idea of suburban swingers,” out cast member Michael Tomasetti said. “There’s three women and two men. There’s one cucumber that comes into play.”
Unfortunately, that’s about as far as it goes.
“But there’s never any homoerotic anything that comes up,” the 25-year-old actor and recent Temple grad added.
Not even some girl-on-girl, soccer-mom cougar action?
In this new comedy from Billy Aronson, who has been credited for the original concept for the musical “Rent” and was a writer for MTV’s “Beavis and Butthead,” follows a group of devoted parents who decide to mark their children’s first day of school by having a first of their own, i.e., “giving a new meaning to the term ‘physical education.’”
Can’t they just say “vigorously screwing other people?”
Anyway, Tomasetti said the stereotypical suburban lifestyle is ripe for skewering in this new comedy.
“The suburbs in general are just kind of a safe place, a safe haven,” he said. “Everything is on the surface. This play is exploring what goes on underneath it. In the beginning, all the characters are talking about what child has what teacher and they heard good things about this teacher and they didn’t hear good things about this one. Maybe their child didn’t get the teacher they wanted but they kind of reassure themselves this teacher is a good choice. So I think it kind of plays on that idea and, of course, marriage. [Main characters] David and Susan decide to open their marriage and see what it would be like to explore having sex with other people.”
Tomasetti said the idyllic suburban setting reminded him of his own upbringing — minus the daytime orgies and the veggies you really don’t want to see in the dinner salad later that night.
“I come from a very stable family,” he said. “My mom and dad are still together. They’ve never participated in something like that, but I definitely see a likeness to the main characters, for sure.”
Tomasetti plays Jonah, who isn’t one of the parents but is seeking out a first of his own.
“You don’t get to see him until the third act,” Tomasetti said of his character. “He is the boyfriend of Kim’s daughter. When you finally get to meet Kim’s daughter Belinda, I come in with her. We are sneaking into this house on the first day of school so we can have sex for the first time. We get caught.”
Tomasetti is happy to mark his first professional performance with 1812 Productions. Until now, he had performed with smaller groups like Art Riot, Commonwealth Classic Theatre and Quince Productions.
“I’ve done other regional stuff in Philadelphia but 1812 is legitimate,” he said. “They’re nonprofit and very well funded. I have a regular salary per week, so that’s something new for me.”
Tomasetti, who also works as a tour guide, plans on to stick around to further develop his skills.
“Having just graduated, I wanted to stay here because I thought it would be a good place to hone my craft and build credits,” he said. “Ultimately, I’d like to move on, but for the next few years I’d like to stay here and see where it takes me.”
He added that Jonah and “First Day” is a good place for him to start.
“I enjoy playing characters that are different,” he said. “Even the role of Jonah, he is somewhat of an outsider and a loner. And if the character is gay, that’s great.”
“The First Day of School: A Soccermom Sex Farce” runs through Oct. 25, at Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey St. For more information, visit www.1812productions.org or call (215) 592-9560.
Larry Nichols can be reached at [email protected].