Theater Reviews

THE PLAYGROUND Writer/director Michael Justen examines the plight of homeless kids on the mean streets of Los Angeles in a grim study of deprivation, degradation and death, sometimes relieved by poignancy, hope and humor. The show, with rock songs by Gunner Wright, Beth Hart and Sebastian Sage, centers on a loose “family” of kids who hang out in Hollywood: Would-be pop-singer Sera (Erica Katzin) takes up with ruthless pimp Ash (Wright) and winds up a hooker. Sexually conflicted Hayden (Justen), who was molested by his father, attempts to rescue naive Florida girl Luka (Ginny Jones) till they too are recruited by Ash. Wistful hustler Brandon (Joey Borgogna) longs to hook up with Hayden, junkie Tori (Joann Socrates) is pregnant, and Andrew (Ian Kitz) cheerfully panhandles. Others include transvestite Angelina (Renette Johnson), street dancer Paulie (Michael Montoya) and guitarist Hunter (Sage). Justen’s intentions are good, and his script is well-observed and earnest, but the multiplicity of characters make it difficult to endow them with much complexity. The young cast is talented, dedicated and energetic enough to almost distract us from the familiarity of the situations. An 11:11 Experiment at Deaf West Theater, 5112 Lankershim Blvd., N. Hlywd.; Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru May 6. (800) 595-4849. (Neal Weaver)

GO THE SUBMISSION The dramas of absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco are endemic with bizarre, eccentric characters, none more so than the preposterously dysfunctional family on display here. With their grotesquely deformed noses, petulant temperaments and foul mouths, they set upon the “normal”-looking Jack (Joe Fria) with vicious invectives and pitiful pleadings, all because the poor boy is, well, different. But his submission is not far off. Eventually, the besieged fellow caves in, first professing his love for “hash brown potatoes,” and, lastly, agreeing to an arranged marriage to Roberta (Allyson Kulavis), a woman with three noses and nine fingers on one hand. Act 2 finds the pair in a loving embrace three years later, with the family demanding reproduction, which soon follows with the stage inundated with eggs. Ionesco’s swipe at convention and conformity is cloaked in the meaningless and nonsensical, making it humorous as well as painfully baffling. Kristi Webber’s direction is brilliant, artfully balancing the physical comedy and adding some stylish directorial touches. And her choice of a playground set, designed by Steve Legawiec, complete with wading pool, swing, slide and proverbial white-picket fence evokes an atmosphere that’s part circus, part Twilight Zone. Ronda Dynice Brooks’ costumes are a hoot. Rounding out an excellent cast are Kevin Dulude, Stacey Jack Russo, Carol Katz, Bill McCormack, Frank Stasio, Ryan Templeton and Kelly Van Kirk. Zoo District at the Ford Amphitheater, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hlywd.; call for schedule; thru April 29. (323) 461-3673. (Lovell Estell III)

Window of Opportunity (Photo by Craig Wadlin)

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More About

• Robert McNamara
• Roger Sizemore
• Daniel Snow
• Peter Miller
• Joshua Sobol

THE TREE Loosely based on a Shinto myth in which a tree spirit falls in love with a human, Peter Wing Healey and Linda Dowdell’s opera offers an incisive critique of suburban sprawl. Patty Grandy (Catherine Ireland) dumps her idealistic but poor husband, Frank (Mathew Edwardsen), in favor of slick developer Hank (Matthew Acuff). Mourning his lost family, Frank weeps beside a stately oak, eliciting emotion in the tree spirit. Warned by the council of trees against falling in love with a human, the oak tree takes the human form of Jessica Marie de Sappler Castlegrove III (Lucia Lynn, alternating with Khorshed Dastoor). Accompanied by Tolorosa (Marya Basaraba) and Bramble (Clint Steinhauser), Jessica assumes the role of a Canadian movie star to attract Frank. But as Hank’s plan to replace the old mall with an even larger mall gains momentum, Jessica’s world begins to collapse. Unfortunately, Act 2 becomes bogged down with too many characters: wealthy movie stars, youthful performance artists and crazed German architects. Nevertheless, writer-director Healey has an eye for stylish stage tableaux, and the stunning costumes, created by a team of individuals too numerous to mention, are nothing less than gorgeous. Los Angeles Theater Center, Theater 3, 514 S. Spring St., dwntwn.; Thurs., 8 p.m.; Fri.-Sat, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 5 p.m.; thru April 16. (323) 226-1230. (Sandra Ross)

GO WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY Peter Miller (Randy Irwin) is a business executive with a conscience. His boss, however, is not. Roger Sizemore (Matthew Kimbrough), rapacious CEO of a multinational corporation, makes WorldCom’s Ebbers, Adelphia’s Rigas and Enron’s Lay look like choirboys. Miller has that conscience tested at a weekend mountain retreat when Sizemore and his accountant, Carl (a suitably sycophantic Phil Proctor), court him to lead a fiscally dubious project. Add a sex scandal with a prostitute (Hollace Starr) that threatens to sink Sizemore’s chances to be named secretary of the treasury and Miller may be in just over his head. Samuel Warren Joseph’s dark comedy hilariously skewers a take-no-prisoners corporate culture that would do a cost-benefit analysis on human suffering and for which death may be more profitable than life. Under Billy Hayes’ direction Irwin makes a confident turn as the conflicted yet calculating Miller, but Kimbrough’s clichéd Sizemore should have a mustache to twist while dastardly menacing his “inferiors.” Meanwhile, other key characters Byron (Ty Granderson Jones), a profanity-spewing black pimp, and Maria (Roxana Brusso), a heavily accented Latina hooker, suffer from stereotypes of the ethnic persuasion. Still in all, Joseph’s snappy one-liners, Hayes’ adept staging and the play’s numerous twists and turns compensate for these foibles. The MET Theater, 1089 N. Oxford Ave., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru May 14. (323) 957-1152. (Martín Hernández)