New Theater Reviews

For the week of February 24 - March 2

Comments (0) By L.A. Weekly Theater Critics Wednesday, Feb 22 2006

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SORDID LIVES Writer-director Del Shores’ Southern comedies have substance underneath their country-fried breading. Mostly, as was the case in 2003’s lovely, honest The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, Shores’ affection and respect for his characters shine through his easy digs at characters guided by Dr. Phil and Tammy Wynette. In this earlier piece, a noisy, hickish clan wrestles with the reality that two of their menfolk prefer kissing menfolk, and that their matriarch has met a sordid end. What clashes is that in this most heavy-handed and mildly dated comedy about loving thine kooks, Shores’ condescension for his characters is untempered and counterproductive. (A Texan myself, I know that even in deepest Biblevania therapists have fairly abandoned the notion that homosexuality can be cured by doin’ a chick.) Still, nobody writes camp better than Shores, and few actors play it better than Leslie Jordan, whose Loretta Lynn–centric drag queen struts in cocksure he’s going to blow off the roof. The night I attended, the packed house mouthed along to Shores’ acerbic one-liners and laughed before them anticipatorily, signifying their readiness to add him to the cult-classic canon. Zephyr Theater, 7456 Melrose Ave., W. Hlywd.; Tues. & Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 3 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru April 23. (800) 595-4849. (Amy Nicholson)

GO STONE HEART Lewis and Clark are back in Diane Glancy’s play, both portrayed by Tim Glenn. Joining them, or him, are Clark’s slave York (Jed Reynolds) and their Shoshone translator, Sacajawea (Thirza Defoe). Sacajawea was kidnapped as a child by a hostile tribe, and there’s a certain majesty to the idea of this lone teenage woman (in a traveling band of some 30 offstage men) returning to her long-lost home early in the journey. She’ll be back — again — after she’s seen the Pacific and translated for the Americans en route, infant in tow. So while Sacajawea’s on an extended and arduous journey home, the benign and charming Americans pave a road of genocidal conquest. The play is an epic poem, almost entirely narrated (to the accompaniment of three musicians) in quite wonderful performances, under Randy Reinholz’s direction. Glancy’s play is a conjuring of voices, smart and sensitive, but the presence of three actors cries for some dialogue and the enactment of conflict, rather than the mere telling of it. Also conspicuously missing is any mention of sex or sexual protocol, which played a huge role in cross-cultural understandings and misunderstandings. Still, this work in progress commands respect for bringing history to life in a tone that’s neither glib nor overly earnest. Native Voices at the Autry National Center, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m.; thru March 12. (866) 468-3399. (Steven Leigh Morris)

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GO THAT MAY WELL BE TRUE Playwright Jay Reiss’ intense comedy drama crackles with snappy dialogue, rich emotional undercurrents and vivid characters. Critically acclaimed author Peter (Markus Flanagan) is on the brink of literary superstardom — but his career could go down like the Lusitania after his long-estranged childhood pal Russell (Robert Gantzos) unexpectedly sues him for plagiarism. Russell claims that Peter based his best book on Russell’s life of freewheeling drug use and self-exploring excess — and he has a dog-eared screenplay, written before the book, to prove that Peter stole the ideas. Peter stops by Russell’s Westchester, New York, apartment to plead with his buddy to drop the suit, but the two instead brawl about how Peter has “digested” Russell’s life. Though its themes echo Donald Margulies’ Collected Stories, this play’s unusual attention to the complexities of human nature elevates it above a cerebral debate on intellectual theft. Director Paul Linke’s energetic, intimate staging navigates the characters’ emotional eddies: Flanagan’s tightly wound, insincere sincerity is nicely balanced by Gantzos’ seemingly damaged, rageful Russell. Kristina Lear offers a luminous turn as Russell’s sexy-as-hell, hilariously New Age roomie. Ruskin Group Theater, 3000 Airport Dr., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru April 1. (310) 397-3244. (Paul Birchall)

GO TRUE LOUNGE Phil Johnson’s one-man show is a comedic, affectionate tribute to the Sin City lounge acts of the ’60s and ’70s, when the Rat Pack crooners, and their likes, enthralled audiences in small, folksy venues. With Ron Snyder’s precise piano accompaniment, Johnson mugs, sings, jokes and works the crowd like, well, a veteran of the lounge circuit. Some of the now esoteric selections include “Charade,” “Scotch & Soda,” “Midnight Sun” and “It Had Better Be Tonight.” Midway through the show, Holiday Hadley joins Johnson for the duets “I’ve Got Your Number” and “Blue Moon.” Hadley also spins off a couple of her own tunes in fine style. Ethan Feerst’s subtle, directorial touches invoke the perfect atmosphere. And for you Sinatra fans, Johnson throws in a rollicking, show-closing medley of the Chairman’s greatest hits. Masquers Cabaret & Dinner Theater, 8334 W. Third St., W. Hlywd.; Sat., 7:30 p.m.; thru March 11. (323) 653-4848. (Lovell Estell III)

A VAST WRECK Combining the narrative of Peer Gynt with the storytelling tics of Our Town may, on paper, promise a double dose of satirical angst, but in reality the results are as effective as a transfusion produced from two different blood types. Everything in Richard Caliban’s play is over the top, all the characters are cartoons, and the lessons of an amoral man’s misspent life are delivered with bludgeoning force. Theater of Note, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru March 18. (323) 856-8611. (Steven Mikulan) See Stage feature next week.