Erik Patterson's new tragic comedy.

He Asked For It, well staged by director Neil Weiss, asks the hard questions about life with HIV and Poz/Neg relationships . The director pulls no punches and elicits more laughs than one might ever expect.

Young actor, Ted (a devastatingly hot Joe Egender), looks like star material for Hollywood. He's got the looks, he's got the charisma, he's got the abs. The world sure is different though, since he moved to WeHo from Wyoming. There are a lot more guys who'll admit they're gay, for one, including gym rat Neil (bold Brad Light, winningly bottoms in one exceptional scene), and tough gaffer, Rigby (a cautious Christopher Neiman). But even more surprising to Ted is how casually Rigby reveals his HIV+ status, "That just came out of your mouth. We were talking about sky-diving and that just... Just like that? Before we've even gotten to our table?"

While struggling to meet the right guy, Ted scores big and signs with a big closeted agent, Marcus (show stopper Joel Scher), but only as long as Ted assures him that he's straight. Ted does, unwittingly setting a trap for himself; a familiar reality for gay actors with their eyes on the prize.

When Ted falls in love with innocent Henry (endearing Ron Morehouse), he's on top of the world. But Henry surprises him, admitting he too is Poz, and he doesn't want to risk infecting the boy he loves. Henry doesn't know how far Ted will go to win his love.

The production as a whole, is very polished (despite some unnecessarily long scene changes on opening night), with beautiful design elements and a stellar cast, rounded out by Joe Roche, (as the disturbing meth-using trick), and Rebecca Sigl as Ted's adorable, blossoming sister.

Act two suffers from what appears to be a lack of thematic focus, as the play slowly attempts to change ownership from Ted to Rigby. Rigby is a tough character to embrace, though, as he's already told us that he "doesn't believe in parachutes"–in other words, he's a bare-backer and he's POZ. A simple change in the placement of the intermission would give the audience time to adjust to this unconventional and clever transition. But, as it stands, Ted never relinquishes his hold on the audience, leaving us wondering whose play it is.

That said, the show is really a treat: sexy, provocative, controversial and hilarious to boot. Theatre of NOTE, long known for its in-your-face theatrics and bare knuckles storytelling, deserves kudos for tackling this brave and brazen script.

He Asked For It by Erik Patterson runs Thurs., Fri. & Sat. at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm through June 1st, 2008 in Los Angeles.

Theatre of NOTE, 1517 Cahuenga Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028