GO NOWHERE ON THE BORDER Well paced with a dash of humor to leaven its weight, Carlos Lacamara’s flawed but worthy melodrama frames the immigration debate around an encounter between an American border vigilante, Gary (Patrick Rowe), and a Mexican father, Roberto (Lacamara), who’s searching for his daughter in the desert. The two men meet in proximity to the ominously decaying corpse of a woman who had succumbed to heat or exhaustion. While suspicious Gary detains him, the nervous Roberto explains and cajoles, whittling away at the American’s paranoia to uncover the common ground between them. Between their revealing dialogue the play flashes back to Roberto’s daughter, Pilar (Cheryl Umana), accompanied on her grueling journey by a cynical, coked-up coyote (Mark Adair-Rios) and a second undocumented alien, Jesus (David Michie), an honest man making a desperate trip. The play humanizes both sides but, unwisely, presents the farm-bred Roberto as a smart, savvy guy who’s fluent in English. That’s hard to swallow, despite the proffered explanation that he’d once spent two years in Arizona attending night school. Nonetheless, solid performances, a strong view and engaging dialogue outweigh this glaring shortcoming. Lacamara is charismatic throughout, while Rowe delivers a skillful portrait of a true believer. Michie, eschewing schmaltz, is also compelling. Bert Rosario directs. The Hayworth, 2509 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru July 16. (800) 838-3006. (Deborah Klugman)
GO PLAY IT COOL In 1953 under Los Angeles’ draconian anti-gay laws, denizens of a shadowy queer jazz club had to be wary of every sexual glance and innuendo lest they be hauled off to jail. But at Mary’s Hideaway, queens and dykes bend the rules as far as they can. Larry Dean Harris’ book for this musical has as much substance as the smoke from his film-noirish hero’s cigarette — but we get solid jazz from five fine actor-singers who deliver lyricist Mark Winkler’s music in a delightful evening. Jessica Sheridan belts her way through as Mary, the owner of the bar who gives too much of her heart to sultry songstress Lena, performed by Katie Campbell with sordid aplomb. The runaway star is Andrew Pandaleon, perfect as Will, a fresh-faced farm boy just off the bus from Kansas with dreams of being a famous singer — he is an immediate feast for queer, sleaze-ball, would-be agent Eddie (Steven Janji) and in-the-closet older fellow Henry (Michael Craig Shapiro). Sharon Rosen’s appropriately dark and rhythmic staging directs us away from the play’s flaws and to the cast’s charm and captivating music, arranged and conducted by Louis Durra. Celebration Theater, 7051-B Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru July 16. (323) 957-1884. (Tom Provenzano)STAGES Easterner Rebecca Golden (playwright Abigail Rose Solomon) moves to San Francisco to “find herself” and pursue a theatrical career. She’s cast as Rosalind in a production of As You Like It and offered the lead in an independent film, which would require her to abandon the play. (Her one concrete decision — to stick with the play — occurs during the intermission.) She drinks too much, deals high-handedly with her roommate, Sarah (Ryan Michelle Bathe), and launches a one-sided affair with her leading man (Nick Hoffa). She’s also haunted by the ghost of her best friend and soul mate, Priscilla (Jules Wilcox), who has a murky agenda and a propensity for climbing on the furniture. Rebecca spends a lot of time talking about her terrible personal pain and ruthlessly latching onto those she’s attracted to, whether they like it or not. Despite some effective single scenes, the play has the feel of highly personal material with which the writer still hasn’t come to terms. The result is confusing and perplexing, making more assertions than it can prove. Director Jon Lawrence Rivera and his cast give the piece an efficient and professional staging, but they can’t make it add up. Rosalind Productions at Hudson Mainstage, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru July 9. (323) 960-7782. (Neal Weaver)
GO tick . . . tick . . . BOOM! Long before he scored a posthumous Broadway hit with Rent, Jonathan Larson wanted to act in and write musicals. When production opportunities proved elusive, he created a one-man show for himself — an autobiographical rock monologue that he could perform with just a piano and a band. Later, producer Robyn Goodman, director Scott Schwarz and writer David Auburn joined forces to expand and produce the piece in its current form. The title refers to the obsession of Jon (Andrew Samonsky) as he approaches his 30th birthday with little to show for it. He’s launching a workshop production of his musical Superbia!, but that’s not enough to satisfy girlfriend Susan (Tami Tappan Damiano), who wants to move to Cape Cod, or gay friend Michael (Wilson Cruz), who wants him to give up waiting tables and go into advertising. The monologue form sometimes works against the piece: Susan and Michael are never fully developed characters, despite exemplary work by Cruz and Damiano, and Jon can seem exasperatingly solipsistic. But the songs are invigorating, the cast is terrific and the production, leaning heavily on rock-concert style, inspired opening-night audiences to near-hysterical delight. Rubicon Theater Company at the Coronet Theater, 366 N. La Cienega Blvd., W. Hlywd.; Wed.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru July 16. (310) 657-7377. (Neal Weaver)
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