Wandering in a used bookstore in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, several years ago, playwright Julie Marie Myatt came across a book called “The Sex Habits of American Women.” The book recounts the results of a serious study undertaken by Fritz Wittels, M.D. in 1951. Myatt was amused by the absurdity of the text, which expounded on Wittel’s “groundbreaking” theories on women and sex. She was inspired to create a “mockumentary” of the possible events around the doctor’s writing of this study. The result is the Guthrie Lab’s hilarious production of Myatt’s play, “The Sex Habits of American Women.”

The action of this play takes place in the New York City household of Dr. Fritz Tittels in the early 1950s, around a decade before the beginning of the Sexual Revolution. Dr. Tittels, a German psychoanalyst in his mid-sixties, works tirelessly on his new masterpiece—a study that will elucidate the “sexual elements of a woman’s psyche.” Dr. Tittels exclaims, “I’m, I’m pulling down the underpants of American women! In public!”

Dr. Tittels however, is unaware that his wife, Agnes, and his daughter, Daisy (still unmarried at the age of 35), could fill several more volumes as neither of their desires as women fit into the “norms” that Dr. Tittels studies and that the sexual mores of the times would dictate.

Juxtaposed with Dr Tittels’ story is a black-and-white video documentary that examines the sexual desires and practices of Joy, a contemporary single mom in her fifties living with her teenage daughter, Katie. Scenes from the video are artfully interspersed, bridging the gap between two generations with very different ideas about female sexuality and happiness.

The play is quite entertaining with its comical and over-the-top characters, as well as its dramatic twists and surprises. Dr. Tittels, played by Richard Ooms, is an oblivious and self-absorbed psychoanalyst who believes that he has become the world’s expert on women’s sexuality—even as he fails to realize how his wife and daughter’s sexualities fail to conform to his findings. The antagonistic family relationships between father, mother and daughter also provide much laughter as we witness this dysfunctional family and its many secrets.

Beyond the many laughs it provides, the play also provokes serious questions about our studies and understanding of women’s sexuality throughout the years. While Dr. Tittel’s study appears absurd by today’s standards, the video documentary shows a contemporary male attempting to understand a woman’s sexuality. Men, it appears, still just don’t get it.

The play also questions our more progressive ideas about female sexuality and happiness. Joy has been married several times and enjoyed an open sex life both in and out of her marriages. She is not afraid to be open about her sex life even with her teenage daughter. The women of the 1950s were often forced into silence about their sexuality if they did not marry, remain faithful to their husband, and have children. Myatt’s play illuminates problems in both generations, with their different understandings and acceptances of female sexuality. None of the women in either generation appear completely happy. So what did the Sexual Revolution really get women?

Myatt’s provocative play is brought to life under the direction of Michael Bigelow Dixon in a performance that is humorous, but grippingly critical and insightful. You’ll have to see the play, if only to learn more about the sex habits of American women.

“The Sex Habits of American Women” is playing at the Guthrie Lab through Nov. 21. The Guthrie Lab is located at 700 1st Street North, in the Warehouse District of Minneapolis. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Tues. through Sat., and 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $22-$30. Call (612) 377-2224 or visit www.guthrietheater.org for more information or to reserve tickets.