Theater Listings

THE LEANING TREE This world premiere by writer/director/producer J. Michael Ferniany provides a window into the life of the Fazrunners, a middle-class Catholic family struggling to get by during the holidays. While there is much material to be found in the well-delineated characters and oppressive situation, the play lacks a rising action, or much of any action at all. Instead, the scenes resemble a trite sitcom that repeats the same conversations. The soundtrack, featuring sentimental favorites such as “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” emphasizes nostalgia at the expense of insight. Ferniany’s direction, like Malcolm’s trumpet, sounds the same repetitive, hackneyed notes, though Hadley’s performance stands out as natural and effervescent. Nolan and Walter also have memorable moments. THE META THEATRE, 7801 Melrose Ave., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Nov. 11. (323) 666-6453. (MK)

GO LIMONADE TOUS LES JOURS In Charles Mee’s delectable romantic confection, Ya Ya, a French nightclub singer in her early 20s, protests to Andrew, the middle-aged American tourist whom she not-so-subtly hit upon in a Paris café, that a relationship between them could never work; and he says the same. Still, they plunge into a passionate May-December romance. The script’s main tension comes from the contrast — blueprinted with savvy by Mee and artfully depicted under Michael Connors’ direction. HUDSON MAINSTAGE THEATRE, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Nov. 10 (added perf Nov. 10, 3 p.m.). (323) 960-7785 or www.­plays411.com/limonade. (DK)

GO LITTLE FISH Charlotte (Alice Ripley), the jelly-bellied central character in Michael John LaChiusa’s urban avant-garde musical, is a waffling soul, the pathetic victim of her mean-spirited boyfriend’s (Robert Torri) putdowns. When their relationship ends, she hightails it from backwater Buffalo, New York, to Manhattan; there she decides to give up smoking, an endeavor that suddenly alerts her to the emptiness of her life and prompts the painful journey leading to its transformation. Using two melded stories by Deborah Eisenberg (“Days” and “Flotsam”), with significant chunks of this insightful writer’s prose appropriated to both book and lyrics, LaChiusa portrays the city — and, by extension, the world — as a clattering, cacophonous place, filled with bruised and bruising egos. Kirsten Sanderson directs. THE BLANK THEATRE, 6500 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Nov. 18. (323) 661-9827. (DK)

LITTLE SECRETS Pathological liar torments his college roommate, in Larry Maraviglia’s psychological drama. THE SPACE, 665 N. Heliotrope Dr., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Dec. 16. (323) 661-2585.

GO LOST ANGELES This world premiere comedy by Caroline Treadwell deals with the lives of 10 Angeleno Gen-Xers who are trying to find meaning in their lives. What begins as a series of Starbucks jokes, riffs on pop culture and tempest-in-a-teacup drama turns into a funny and sometimes sweet examination of finding oneself, “or somebody better.” Joe Camareno’s directing is excellent in its quick transitions, physicality and bold use of simultaneous action. Despite its great comic moments, Treadwell’s play could stand some editing to tighten up the story. THE LILLIAN THEATRE, 1076 N. Lillian Way, Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Nov. 18 (added perfs some Thurs., 8 p.m.; call for schedule). (323) 960-7774. (MK)

MERCY Alzheimer’s tragedy, by Patricia Parker. STELLA ADLER THEATRE, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Dec. 2. (323) 465-4446.

GO THE MILK TRAIN DOESN’T STOP HERE ANYMOREDirector Simon Levy and a terrific cast headed by Karen Kondazian do a magnificent job of bringing Tennessee Williams’ 1963 black comedy to life. In a passionate performance, Kondazian plays Flora Goforth, a drug-addled, wealthy widow holed up in an Italian villa. She’s visited by a young man nicknamed The Angel of Death in light of his past visits to aging divas. The production design is as superb as the cast. FOUNTAIN THEATRE, 5060 Fountain Ave., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Nov. 17. (323) 663-1525. (Sandra Ross)

’NAMI Harry and Lil (Darin Singleton and Marie Wong) live in the second-crummiest apartment in New York City. First place goes to their next-door neighbors Keesha and Roachie (Aïssatou Diallo and Hector Hank) — who are secretly minding an Indonesian tsunami orphan for their landlord, Donovan (Stephen Eshenbaugh). Besides collecting rent and dealing crack and sex, the enterprising Donovan is in the baby-selling trade. Playwright Chad Beckim seems to share the same bleak urban view of humanity as Stephen Adly Guirgis, but ’Nami is burdened with a potboiler narrative. With the exception of Diallo’s powerhouse performance, director Scott Werve’s cast members appear uninterested in exploring their characters’ psyches, settling instead for one-note readings. Range View Productions at HAYWORTH STUDIO THEATRE, 2511 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m.; thru Nov. 17. (323) 960-7788. (SM)

OUT OF YOUR MIND! Theatergoers sip wine at a tasteful private home until a pushy assistant director (Patrick Censoplano) announces the first of Steven Kane’s two short plays, In the Night of the Bed. The man (Andrew Macbeth) claims to be an extra, only this isn’t a movie, but Molly’s (Kelly Anne Ford) dream, and the rest of the cast are the regrets and pains she revisits every night. Less pat and engaging is Rhinovirus, a chipper sci-fi saga set in a future New New York where pain, suffering and disease have been criminalized. Under Jane Lanier’s direction, the staging is intimate, but the acting is as broad as the Grand Canyon. GuerriLA Theatre at a PRIVATE RESIDENCE, 2806 Nichols Canyon Place, L.A.; schedule varies, call for info; thru Dec. 8. (818) 972-2467. (AN)