SEXUAL HEALING
Daniel Packard's “Live Group Sex Therapy Show” gives people something to talk about
by Anthonia Akitunde
The battle of the sexes is a much-reviewed topic in contemporary entertainment. Thanks to syndication, millions of lovelorn 20- and 30-somethings can still watch Carrie Bradshaw and her girls talk about relationship woes and the men who cause them. We know that men are from Mars, women are from Venus, and when he’s just not that into you. But do men get a fair deal at representing what they want from their relationships with women?
Comedian Daniel Packard says no, among other things, in his “Live Group Sex Therapy Show” playing at the Lakeshore Theater tonight and tomorrow night. Packard noticed a discrepancy between male and female comedians. “I saw that women could get on stage and tell jokes about how ridiculous men could be, and everybody laughed,” he says. “So I wrote some material about how ridiculous women were being and the whole room was silent—as if I'd just peed in the middle of the living room or something.”
The show acts as a way to even the playing field for guys, letting them finally have a chance to say what's really on their minds through Packard's use of hilarious questions, even funnier answers and allowing the audience to have their say. “I decided I would become the one guy who would tell the truth,” he explains. “The truth women don't like to hear, but need to.”
That truth includes Packard's theories on “[Loving] the Monkey”—nothing like Cosmo's “101 Ways to Love Your Man”—which goes over very well with audience members. “One woman came up to me last week after a show,” he says. “She was about 50, and she said, ‘You’re right. I do need to love the monkey more. I am going to go home and lick my man head to toe.’”
All in all, the show has something for everyone. It opens up dialog between women and men, who no longer have to fear a glare after laughing at a joke aimed at the opposite sex. Packard acts as the Dr. Phil for the politically incorrect, getting positive feedback after 200 shows. Packard recalls: “I get letters all the time from couples that say, 'After your show my wife said, “Is that really how you feel?” And I said, “Yes.” And that opened up a really healthy conversation that made our sex life so much more enjoyable.'”
"Dan Packard’s Live Group Sex Therapy Show” runs at the Lakeshore Theater (3175 N. Broadway, 773/472-6492) July 26 and 27; lakeshoretheater.com