Simon Morley and David "Friendly" Friend have brought their college humor show, Puppetry of the Penis, to the Theatre on the Square for a limited run. As Simon said on opening night before a raucous crowd, he hoped many in the audience had had a couple of drinks before coming to the show. Well, I had had a couple of martinis and I still was left cold after 50 minutes and 45 penis installations exhibited during the performance. Not only do we see the two naked men performing these juvenile feats but there is a camcorder operator at the base of stage filming these weird exploits to project on a giant screen behind the performers.

Watching Simon and David doing their act, I was reminded of when I was in high school and I saw these same penis tricks done by two guys when we were taking showers after a basketball game. The only difference is that the high school act took about 5 minutes while these two adults go on and on and on for 50 minutes (which is 45 minutes too long). This is a 50 minute one joke shtick that might appeal to those who like Jackass, the Movie or Andrew Dice Clay. This is one bawdy show.

Puppetry of the Penis is not for the mainstream audience. It is for those who like raunchy humor and maybe for some of those women who like to see what guys can do with that flexible appendage. The amazing thing about this show is some of the critics "raves" - the Los Angeles Times and the New York Post reviews gave it good notices. The Post critic said "It's amazing how quickly we appreciated the wit and the devilish difficulty of genital manipulation." I must have missed something. It is "in your face" with only some slightly witty jokes.

Fortunately, the two guys have a warm up act prior to their outrageous display. New York comedian Alexandra Mchale entertains the audience for 25 minutes with zingers presented fast and furiously. Most of her remarks are aimed directly at the male members of the audience, and she particularly picked on one person who was a loud mouth vulgar male. She called him a typical asshole and he soon shut up. Most of her jokes are very funny and relate to the men she has dated.

If you are curious to see such installations of the penis and testicles as: the Eiffel Tower, Australian bats, hot dogs, hamburgers, a baby kangaroo coming out its mother's pouch, etc., then go see this show. And don't miss the "squirrel in the tree trunk," which looks most excruciating. The show was supposed to be a one week run, but I have heard it has been extended. For tickets to this "non-sexual adult show" call 415-433-9500 or visit www.theatreonthesquare.com.

Cheers - and be sure to Check the lineup of great shows this season in the San Francisco area

- Richard Connema