Cleveland Adult Entertainment: Sexual Healing
Most of the play then takes place across the next eight years, as we watch Munson’s practice—devoted to healing the sexual dysfunctions of married couples—grow, to the point that he and Novak, now married after an affair and his subsequent divorce, become national celebrities. Then a court case brought by Dial exposes exactly what goes on in Munson’s office, leading to a large financial settlement and severe modification of his hands-on techniques. Success rates drop, Munson eventually pursues a younger research assistant, and the couple divorces. Novak ends alone, personally unfulfilled and convinced that their research is forgotten.
Leaf covers much of the relationship between Munson and Novak in a running omniscient narration delivered by the latter. It’s a clumsy and distancing device that prevents both characters from accreting. More interesting are Dial, a former prostitute married to her former pimp, and June Baker, another sexual surrogate. What motivates them to accept such employment and how they deal with its consequences are fascinating subjects insufficiently explored. Leaf also tries to dramatize the effects on Munson and Novak of their research—Novak shoots more than 7,000 films of over 270 couples having sex—but the results seem more willed than organic.
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