They laughed, they cried, they even shouted occasional warnings from the audience … it was Sunday’s matinee performance of “Love, Sex and the I.R.S.” at Meridian Little Theatre.

“Love, Sex and the I.R.S.” is a cautionary tale about what happens when you lie to the federal government.

At the center of the action are two roommates, Jon and Leslie. Jon, it seems, has been telling the I.R.S. that Leslie is a girl, his wife to be specific. It all comes home to roost one day when an I.R.S. auditor comes to visit — and Leslie has to wear a dress and walk in heels to keep them both out of jail.

Throw in cheating/jilted girlfriends, a nosy apartment superintendent and the unexpected arrival from Jon’s mom and you’ve got a pretty good idea what happens.

Don’t let the play’s lightweight plot line fool you. “Love, Sex and the I.R.S.” is a demanding physical comedy that depends heavily on costumes, props and sight gags for its laughs.

It never stops for a second, building confusion with the addition of character after character, one scene rolling into the next with no time lapse in the play’s action, gathering momentum until the wheels finally fall off in the final scene. The timing of lines, entrances and exits is critical — and actors have to be ready to improvise in a heartbeat when, inevitably, something doesn’t happen quite as it should.

This is tough stuff. This is Lucy and Ethel in the candy factory.

And, it’s right up Jeremy Sande’s alley.

Sande is an MLT veteran and he turned in a very credible performance earlier this season in the title role of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” But he really shines as Leslie, the roommate forced into drag, the dynamo around which everything else revolves.

How long can Leslie keep it together? Will he blow it? How far will he go to sustain the illusion?

Sande sails through with strong, committed acting choices, delivered with the kind of confidence that shows long hours with the script outside rehearsal. Even when a moment goes over the top now and again — if you can imagine that happening in something called “Love, Sex and the I.R.S.” — his preparation allows him to adjust and move on.

The counterfoil to Leslie’s character is Jon, the guy who got them into this mess in the first place, played by Lt. Steve Piper of Naval Air Station Meridian.

Piper has thrown himself into MLT this year, making his stage debut as a member of the Brothers Chorus in “Joseph,” stage-managing “Christmas My Way” and serving on the theatre’s board of directors. His performances are those of an intelligent, assertive personality sampling a new world — and finding it delightful.

The lieutenant pulls yeoman’s duty in “Love, Sex and the I.R.S.” I mean, playing straight man to a guy in a dress is not easy, but Piper manages well.

Audience members welcomed back three MLT veterans in a triplet of strong character performances by Jack Hall (drunk I.R.S. agent), Sidney Covington (drunk mom) and David Miller (nosy super).

If Leslie hadn’t finally come clean when he did, I don’t know how Hall’s gestures could have gotten more flamboyant, Covington’s accent more broad or Miller’s suspicions more pronounced. They were perfect leavening for the bread.

By far the play’s most difficult roles are those of Leslie and Jon’s girlfriends, played by Mimi Homan and Candace Moffett. There to add confusion to the action, the roles are sketchily written. Both ladies coped with the script nicely, finding ways to fill in the holes and make their performances specific instead of generic.

And, finally, in a walk-on role as something akin to a justice of the peace, William “Flash” Gordon innocently arrives to marry … somebody. But, I won’t tell you who; that would spoil everything.

“Love, Sex and the I.R.S.” is directed by MLT’s resident director, Jimmy Pigford, assisted by David Miller. It is sponsored in part by Meridian Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

Jennifer Jones is the stage manager, with sets by Steve Smith, sound by Philip Culpepper and a backstage crew that kept it all moving during a hectic two hours onstage.

Meridian Little Theatre now looks to its final, and most ambitious, play of the season — “Cats” by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It opens May 4, and MLT will be one of the first community theatres in the country to produce it.

In the meantime, go see if they can squeeze you into “Love, Sex and the I.R.S.”



Suzanne Monk has a master’s degree in theatre directing from Ohio University. She worked in professional theatre in New York City and Sarasota, Fla., for six years before moving home to Mississippi.



WANT TO GO?

Meridian Little Theatre will present two more performances of “Love, Sex and the I.R.S.,” on Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 p.m. For tickets, call the box office at (601) 482-6371, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.