Alec Mapa "Baby Daddy"

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                                                                                       According to the 2000 Census, 8 percent of same-sex couples reported having an adopted child in their household. In 2010, that number jumped to 19 percent, proving that more and more gays and lesbians are raising children, no matter how hard certain groups try to take away their rights. After adopting a 5-year-old boy from Compton, Calif. in 2010, comedian and actor Alec Mapa and his husband, film producer Jamison Hebert, will add to the statistics when the next Census is conducted in eight years.

In his latest one-man show titled Baby Daddy, which returns to the Laurie Beechman Theatre after a successful run in February, Mapa doesn’t deny that the image of his family may not be what you would expect to see hanging on the walls of the Sears Portrait Studio. 

He is Filipino, Hebert is white and their son is African-American. One might wonder, with all the controversy over same-sex couples raising children, if Mapa’s jokes about it will give ammunition to those against it. After the 90-minute show, the answer is clear—no.

Known as America’s Gaysian Sweetheart, Mapa began the evening by setting the record straight—sort of speak.

“Being a parent isn’t for everyone. I don’t care what the brochures say!” Mapa said without hesitation.

After appearing in over 40 television series, including recurring roles on “Ugly Betty” and “Desperate Housewives,” Mapa knows how to grab an audience. After discussing one of his most recent gigs—hosting the gay porn awards on Showtime—Mapa moved on to stories of fatherhood. First he compared being a parent to the classic children’s book The Giving Tree.

“They take and they take and they take,” Mapa explained, “and then they sit on."

Not surprisingly, Mapa didn’t turn into a gushing daddy, painting his son, Zion, as an adorable child who could do no wrong. He detailed the temper tantrums in stores, not flushing the toilet or washing his hands after going to the bathroom and eating too much at Thanksgiving, which led to a sloppy mess. These are things every parent goes through, no matter their sexual preference. Of course no straight father—or mother for that matter—would describe their parenting skills as a combination of Fraulein Maria, Mama Rose, Auntie Mame and Miss Hanagan. What is evident, however, is there is a lot of love in Mapa’s home.

The measure of a great storyteller is the ability to have an audience in tears of laughter in one second and in the next have them sighing over a heartbreaking tale. Mapa does just that when he details how Zion entered a foster home when he was 3 years old for neglect. Then shortly after the adoption, he went to preschool and had the fear that his new daddy wouldn’t return to pick him up and often asked, “Where am I going to live next?"

Mapa takes his final bow as a recording of Judy Garland singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” plays while pictures of his family are projected. The lyrics and images make the audience think. If heterosexuals can have kids no matter their circumstances, why, then oh, why can’t homosexuals? They too have so much love to give. If there is a doubt, treat yourself to Baby Daddy.

Alec Mapa at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 W. 42nd St., July 19–29. (212) 352- 3101 or www.spincyclenyc.com.