Is This Man Prime Parent Material?

The wonders of fatherhood might seem an awfully tame topic for naughty-boy storyteller-comedi- an John Leguizamo. But in “Sexaholix

In the stage and HBO show “Freak,” Leguizamo had offered a picture of a spectacularly dysfunctional upbringing. This time, as he looks back on squabbling parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles, he wonders whether he’s been given the proper tools to commit to a relationship or to raise children.

As always, his gift for mimicry brings these characters vividly alive. Recalling childhood misbehavior with his broth- er, Leguizamo adopts his father’s bellow to threaten: “Look, if I have to come back down one more time, it’s going to cost you years off your life--and I’m not talking about the crummy ones at the end.”

Also meant as a warning is: “Wait till you have children; you’ll see.” But perhaps this is Dad’s blessing, not a curse.

Relationships keep going awry in adolescence (when Leguizamo hops after a beautiful young woman as though his pants are down around his ankles) and young adulthood, leaving him to the company of his buddies, known since schooldays as the Sexaholix. (Taped live in New York under Marty Callner’s direction, the show is greeted with the same clamor that it received during a brief run here in L.A.)

When he finally meets a soul mate who broaches the topic of children, Leguizamo blurts: “Kids? We don’t need kids. We got me.”

Yet despite such pronouncements, he quietly indicates he’s up to the task.