When Charla Hathaway was in her 50s, she had an extramarital affair with a younger French soldier, then took a sabbatical from her marriage to move to Texas, where she learned to make love without erections and wrote odes to her own clitoris, before becoming a highly paid escort who contributed to world peace through anal stimulation. Eventually, she took her business into the internet age with her son’s help, got a Ph.D from F.U., and wrote several books on sexuality.
If you think that talking openly and unashamedly about intercourse at any age is important, Hathaway has a long list of lessons from 20 years of sex and intimacy coaching to share. Her bawdy body-positive ethos is best summarized by her Mae Westian motto, “If my panties aren’t wet they don’t come off,” and she advocates for learning to receive pleasure instead of simply giving, as demonstrated early on in a sensual guided meditation with a feather she leads audiences through, to practice self-activating the “direct pleasure route.”
Prior to dishing secrets from her career as a senior citizen sex worker, she first shares some precocious memories of pubescent penises, as well as a painful recounting of a pre-Roe abortion in an urban hotel room. Donning hippie garb, she strums and sings a self-effacing original folk song about (what else) sex; she also acknowledges her debt to Annie Sprinkle and other heroic healing whores through a child-like illustrated storybook.
Hathaway’s diction and delivery are closer to Carol Kane than Dr. Ruth, and even the most salacious sections don’t get too steamy; this is a show about masturbation that you could take mom to. Less a polished play than a playful conversation with the audience, the show’s opening night suffered technically from abruptly edited clips of classic rock tunes, which made transitions more jarring than necessary, as well as some script and lighting fumbles.
In a society intent on ignoring the idea that older people have sex (much less enjoy it) Hathaway’s message encouraging audiences to “leave your partners better than you find them” is a love lesson well worth listening to at any age.
Naked at My Age
Green Venue, Orlando Family Stage
60 minutes; 18 & up
$15
Get tickets
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This article appears in May 14-20, 2025.