NYC- An award-winning new drama has arrived Off-Broadway - and it's getting a rise out of audiences.

But first, one of the actors has to get one of his own.

"Red Light Winter," by Adam Rapp - a story of two former college buddies and a prostitute they meet in Amsterdam - includes a scene in which a woman rolls a condom onto a man's erect penis.

Talk about performance anxiety.

That's one reason signs warning of "explicit sexual situations" are posted inside and outside the Barrow Street Theatre, where the complex drama began an open run Friday. And it's not the only scene simulating graphic intercourse.

After the first preview, audience members were split on whether "Red Light" is too blue.

"It was startling," said Matt Bernsohn, 27, a Manhattan shoe designer. "I couldn't see it happening, but the implication of a woman putting a condom on a man is more graphic than I'm used to seeing."

Ken Pritchard, 40, who works in real estate in Chattanooga, Tenn., said the "show was pushing the envelope."

He and his wife heard about the show at the TKTS booth in Times Square.

"A man there warned us that there's nudity and sex on stage," he said. "But when you come to New York, you want to see something edgy.

"The question is, of course, is the sex gratuitous? I think it is, to a slight degree."

His wife, Carla, 41, disagreed.

"The sex was hidden," she said, "and it's a small part of a much bigger, much more complicated emotional story."

Laura Varn, 25, an artist who lives in Manhattan, said she "sees a lot of plays and was not offended. I feel so affected by it. I think the play showed real life.

"'Take Me Out' had far more nudity in it," she added, referring to a Tony Award-winning baseball drama famous for extended full frontal male nakedness.

Psychiatrist Peter Aldin, 73, and his 58-year-old wife, Shi hong, came to the play, which had a hit run in Chicago last year, on the recommendation of their daughter, a writer.

The full-body nudity of actors Christopher Denham and Lisa Joyce was "very much part of the play," Aldin said. "The sex was just fine. You don't actually see the intercourse. It gave the play electricity.

"Besides, anytime there's pretty young woman," he added, "I'm glad to look."

That drew a look from his wife, who said, "That's enough on that."