Its just sex, isn’t it? This is the question that has plagued people who have cheated on their partners or who have watched “Friends” one too many times. Writer and director Jeff Gould has tried to answer this age-old question in his racy comedy play titled “It’s Just Sex”.

The first scene arrives straight at the point of the play with a couple playfully having sex on a couch. This would have been a great opening had it not been for the actors’ failure to stay in the scene without giggling at inappropriate times.

When the man’s wife catches the couple in their lewd act, the girl, played by Tiffany Ellen Solano, is not very convincing in her awkward reaction concerning their indecent situation. The wife, played by Carolyn Hennesy, saves the opening scene with her superb acting. Instead of talking to her husband about the event that has just occurred, she begins doing what most women do when under emotional stress-she begins cleaning.

The next scene shows a couple that appears to be very happily in love and still have passion in their relationship after 11 years of marriage. They are able to joke about fantasies and then play a little game of cat and mouse, as the husband tries to convince his wife to have sex before they leave because “being fashionably late means you were screwing before you got there.”

A woman sitting on a couch, applying her makeup and appearing to be irritated greets the audience in the next scene. The man in the room with her seems to be apprehensive and worried. The couple start discussing why he cannot get an erection, again. There clearly is tension between the couple as they try to work things out before they leave for cocktails at their friends’ house, but nothing gets resolved.

Act one leaves the audience at the original couple’s house where the wife, Joan, is still cleaning and trying to prepare the house for her guests. Her husband, Phil, played by Eric Lutes, wants to talk about the situation, but Joan clearly wants to “sweep it under the rug,” literally.

The first act does a nice job of setting up the scene for the second act. The audience understands the dynamics of each of the couples as they arrive at Joan and Phil’s house. The alcohol is poured freely as the three couples try to catch up on one other’s lives. Joan, who is drinking heavily, decides it is time for a game and suggests a game in which players have to tell the absolute truth. The men and women are then paired off with someone other than their spouse.

Each new couple goes to their respective rooms to get “reacquainted.” When the couples reappear, straggling in one by one, all hell breaks loose among them. This is when the actors really come into their roles and captivate the audience.

All the couples are then forced to air their dirty laundry in front of all of their friends because “privacy is just not in the air tonight.”

The way each couple reacts to the situation is different but very true to life as they try to work out their individual marriage problems.

The play takes a little while to take-off. But the actors shine in the second act, captivating the audience with their comedic way of coping with marriage problems and trying to legitimize the event of the night. The audience is left laughing half of the time and sympathizing with the characters the other half of the night.

The intimate setting of the Zephyr Theatre helps the audience feel more connected to the actors and their woes.

“It’s Just Sex” is playing at the Zephyr Theatre until Sept. 23 and is located on 7456 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles 90046. Regular show times are on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at plays411.com/justsex.