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Buy the 'John Leguizamo Live' CD, a collection of Leguizamo's monologues. Buy the 'Mambo Mouth' special on VHS. Buy one of the following John Leguizamo movies on DVD: 'Carlito's Way' (1993) 'To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar' (1995) 'Executive Decision' (1996) 'William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet' (1996) 'The Pest' (1997) 'Spawn' (1997) 'Summer of Sam' (1999) 'Titan A.E.' (2000) 'Moulin Rouge' (2001) 'Collateral Damage' (2002) 'Ice Age' (2002) 'Empire' (2002)

Puppetry of the Papi: John Leguizamo's latest show revolves around sex and kids. Dirty Deeds Everything you've ever wanted to know about John Leguizamo's sex life is revealed in 'Sexaholix ... A Love Story' By Batia Rabec LIKE JACKIE Mason riffing on Jews and gentiles, Latino comedian John Leguizamo satirizes ethnic stereotypes to make serious points about our inherent differences. In his latest one-man show, Sexaholix ... A Love Story, Leguizamo examines the world's most intimate act and brings his audience to climactic moments of clarity. Sexaholix is a physically demanding performance that focuses on his personal remembrances of lovemaking, showing just how hard it can be--double entendre intended. "Sexaholix is the story of a man who grows up, and his love relationships," Leguizamo says, by phone from New York. "There is a lot of sex, and it's an account of how pathetic it could be." Leguizamo bounces, squats, runs and dances across the stage, acting out man's innermost desires and feelings. With sighs, groans and gasps, he documents the ups, downs and side-to-sides of his first sexual encounter at the age of 14. "It was an Argentinean girl, who played classical music. She was almost neurotic," he says. "But she didn't bite." Toward the second half, Leguizamo gets around to the "love story" part. He examines seduction, rejection, affairs, marriage and the coming into the world of his two children--Lucas (2) and Allegra (3)--whose home births are dramatically re-enacted during the show. The transition from sexually charged boy to responsible dad becomes apparent during the 70-minute show. Leguizamo fills the stage with dozens of Latino characters that shaped his life and provided material for his act. His gay uncle married his lesbian aunt just to have children. His first wife was a self-absorbed, insecure WASP, who turned into a proud Latina. His miserable grandparents play poker and can only talk out of one side of their mouth. As for himself, Leguizamo is a sensitive man, who struggled throughout his life to say "I love you" until he met his present wife, and the love of his life. She is the mother of his Puerto Rican and Jewish mixed-heritage children, whom he describes as "Jew-O-Rican." "They'll be able to shake their hips and balance their checkbooks," he quips. Life wasn't always funny for the comedian. Leguizamo graduated from New York University, even studied with Lee Strasberg and Wynn Handman, but his Latino heritage often stood in the way of roles that didn't require brandishing knives. At auditions, he was rejected for being "too ethnic." He played stereotypical bandits, illegal aliens and drug dealers. "I had to swallow my pride many times," Leguizamo says. He digested these sour experiences and shot out acclaimed one-man shows. In 1991, he appeared off-Broadway in Mambo Mouth and won an Obie and an Outer Critics Award. Then came Spic-O-Rama, which won a Drama Desk award and led to a short-lived Fox variety show House of Buggin'. His 1998 Broadway debut, Freak, was awarded with a Tony nomination for Best Special Theatrical Performance. With the kudos rolling in, Leguizamo merged into mainstream Hollywood. He was featured in Summer of Sam, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Collateral Damage, his star vehicle The Pest and the Latino kingpin drama Empire. In 2003, the actor and comedian cracked the glass ceiling and is climbing through. Leguizamo has the juice to get projects greenlighted; he owns a production company and hree homes in New York and is directing his first movie, Infamous--the story of a Latino boxer--to be released this summer. "It was a difficult transition to suddenly have money," says Leguizamo. "But money doesn't mean anything. That doesn't make me happy. What matters is my work, my family and my friends." And sex, of course. Sexaholix ... A Love Story plays March 7 and 8 at 8pm at the Flint Center, De Anza College, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino. Tickets are $31-$54 and available through Ticketmaster. (408.998.TIXS) Send a letter to the editor about this story to letters@metronews.com. [ Silicon Valley | Metroactive Home | Archives ]