Theater Reviews

GO ST. ALICE OF CHATAHOOCHEE Though the title implies a personage devoted to generosity, the more persuasive point in Alice Johnson’s solo performance about growing up in rural Georgia is Johnson’s unrelenting pursuit of attention — in a “semiprofessional community theater” where, cast as a child urchin in A Christmas Carol, she connives a way of stealing the show; as well as in local talent contests where she lip-synchs to Christopher Cross. Given her lust for the spotlight, Johnson’s eventual realization about the virtues of giving is a wee bit hard to swallow, even though her self-proclaimed sainthood is meant ironically. Johnson has the ribald appeal of a husky-voiced, loudmouthed imp with twinkling eyes and turn-on-a-dime transitions among 30 characters. Also, a portrait she paints of her involvement as a Catholic camping with born-agains in the Deep South contains equal parts pathos and alarm. Through her boundless perkiness, Johnson rarely stops smiling, and her keenly observant and wry performance is about the horrors that lurk beneath that smile. Fountain City Productions and the Powerhouse Theater Company at the Elephant Theater Lab, 1078 Lillian Way, Hlywd.; Thurs., 8 p.m.; thru June 15. (323) 993-7204. (Steven Leigh Morris)

GO SHERLOCK HOLMES: The Final Adventure Steven Dietz’s comic adaptation of William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1899 play profits from David Ira Goldstein’s sure-handed direction. When the King of Bohemia (Preston Maybank) receives a blackmail threat from a former lover, he seeks assistance from Sherlock Holmes (Mark Capri) and Doctor Watson (Victor Talmadge). Holmes is reluctant to take the case, but as soon he learns that arch-foe Professor Moriarty (Laurence Ballard) is behind the plot to derail the King’s impending nuptials, the Bloodhound of Baker Street begins sniffing out clues. Disguises, forged letters and fake names figure in, and the pursuit of Moriarty stretches from London to the continent. Over-the-top performances complement the material. Capri makes for a fine square-jawed hero, and Ballard is properly villainous as Moriarty. Kenneth Merckx Jr., Erin Bennett and Roberto Guajardo provide excellent support as Moriarty’s accomplices, and William Forrester’s winsome set design, David K. Mickelsen’s lush costumes and Dennis Parichy’s lights are first-rate. Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 5 & 9 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m. (no evening perfs May 24 & 31; ASL perf June 4, 2 p.m.); thru June 11. (626) 356-7529. (Sandra Ross)

GO SOLOMANIA!: ¡Gaytino! Writer-performer Dan Guerrero observes that in NYC he was regarded as a talent agent who happened to be Latino, while in Los Angeles he was a Chicano who happened to be a talent agent. Guerrero’s solo performance (directed by Diane Rodriguez) seems at first to be just another tale of the gay boy who grew up loving musical comedy and wanting to perform. But Guerrero’s story is richer. He grew up in East L.A., his father was an internationally revered writer and singer of Mexican popular music, and his best friend from grade-school days became a prominent Chicano artist before dying of AIDS. When dreams of performing faded, he became an agent representing Sarah Jessica Parker, among others. Following a return to California, with his lover of 26 years, he became a casting director and writer/producer, and gravitated toward Chicano political activism, working with Caesar Chavez, Edward James Olmos, Jimmy Smits and others. Now, at 65, he’s blessed with charm, stature and at last he’s performing. Musical backup is provided by David De Palo, Joseph Julian Gonzalez and Germaine Franco. Kirk Douglas Theater, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City; in rep, call for schedule; thru June 11. (213) 628-2772. (Neal Weaver)

GO SOLOMANIA!: Live From the Front After establishing his leftist credentials with a few terse one-liners, Pacifica Radio journalist Jerry Quickley simply tells us what he saw in Iraq, without preaching to the choir. As the second Gulf War loomed, he chose to go there independently, distrusting the U.S. government more than the Iraqis. (He tells his Queens homeboys that, if they see pictures of him in handcuffs at Guantanamo Bay, that he’s “definitely not a terrorist — just one more nigger without a lawyer.”) Quickley arrived in Baghdad just before the start of the war. After undergoing two nights of heavy bombing, he was suddenly deported by the Iraqi government, via a 600-kilometer highway of death, subject to U.S. bombing and attacks by the Ali Babas — pirate-thieves who prey on travelers. Along the way of the cluster-bomb-scarred landscape, he encountered a burned-out school bus full of fried children, and the carcasses of camels and sheep, with their dying shepherd. Though Quickley survived the trip, his “minders” did not. The storyteller is most convincing when he’s describing, rather than dramatizing, and letting the images speak for themselves. Reg E. Gaines provides straightforward direction. Kirk Douglas Theater, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City; in rep, call for schedule; thru June 11. (213) 628-2772. (Neal Weaver)

GO THE TEMPEST Geoff Elliott’s staging unfolds on the island fantasy of Darcy Scanlin’s fog-shrouded set and Peter Gottlieb’s lights, a kingdom ruled via magical powers held by marooned Prospero (Robertson Dean), embittered because his dukedom of Milan was usurped by his brother, Antonio (Dwight Bacquie).  The image of newly shipwrecked Ferdinand (Jason Chanos) in costume designer Jennifer Brawn Gittings’ 16th-century attire, strolling the shore alone, bewildered and surrounded by spirits he can’t see, recalls a Spanish conquistador arriving in California. It also shows Shakespeare’s wondrous capacity to veil politics in the blanket of a dream. And you can feel the electric current running through Ferdinand’s romance of Prospero’s ward, Miranda (understudy Dorthea Harahan, who’s just sublime). Much work was invested in Laura Harper’s eerie masks, which reveal faces on two sides, though all that decoration pales beside the simple gestures and sentiments of Prospero forgiving the treason of his enemies and surrendering his own magical powers. With Dean’s Zeus-like bombast throughout, I wasn’t sure where those Christ-like decisions came from, nor was I convinced of slave Caliban’s (Stephen Weingartner) alleged monstrosity. Little matter; Shakespeare’s play is glorious, and Elliott takes pains to tell it clearly. A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale; Wed.-Thurs., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; thru May 21. (Steven Leigh Morris)