Theater Reviews: Groundlings Swimsuit Edition, A Good Smoke

Also, Varla Jean Merman Loves a Foreign Tongue!

Comments (0) By L.A. Weekly Theater Critics Monday, Mar 3 2008

...continued from page 1

GO GROUNDLINGS SWIMSUIT EDITION Drawing on a variety of current themes and issues, the Groundlings shine in their newest show, which, following a Groundlings tradition, has nothing to do with the title. Featuring strong comedic writing, the sketches also incorporate music, including "Womanisms," a song about (f)e-mails women forward to each other; "Rockstar," in which a man is trying to write a jingle for an energy drink; and "Trade School Musical," a parody of trade-school commercials set to familiar pop tunes. While there is nary a flop in the bunch, the highlights of the show, "Love" and "Taste Test," both feature Melissa McCarthy, who leaves the audience roaring with laughter. McCarthy is never afraid to make a fool of herself, and her uproarious style, reminiscent of the late Chris Farley, makes it impossible for us to keep a straight face. Jeremy Rowley, Alex Staggs, Annie Sertich and Kevin Kirkpatrick also give memorable performances. Director Karen Maruyama, who orchestrates a couple of improv sketches during the show, keeps the evening moving at a brisk pace, never letting the audience settle into apathy. She is aided by the always-lively Groundlings band, which makes transitions entertaining with musical selections that match the themes of the sketches. Groundlings Theatre, 7307 Melrose Ave., W. Hlywd.; Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 8 & 10 p.m.; thru April 19. (323) 934-4747. (Mayank Keshaviah)

{==PAGE_BREAK==}

GO THE LONDON CUCKOLDS In Edward Ravenscroft's Restoration comedy (adapted and directed by Richard Tatum), sex, infidelity and outrageous calamities are given free rein. The plot spins around three married couples. Aldermans Doodle, Wiseacres and Dashwell (Quincy Miller, Herb Mendelsohn and Charles Pacello) are first seen having a discourse over whether a wife who is virtuous, foolish or witty would be more faithful. In short order, the spouses of these clueless gentlemen, the ditsy, teenage Peggy (Jessica Mills), "witty" Arabella (Julie Granata) and the "godly" Eugenia (Catherine Cronin) provide the answer, with the help of the honey-tongued Ned Ramble (a fine Darin Toonder), who eventually tries to sate the lusty desires of all three, while avoiding discovery. In the process, Ramble's manic mishaps and outlandish entrances and exits provide hilarious moments. Fanning the comic flames are the amorous pursuits of Messrs. Frank (Zack Foulkes) and Loveday (Matt Saxe). This bawdy romp runs almost three hours but never wears thin. The cast turn in excellent performances, and Tatum keeps the physical comedy and shtick at a perfectly modulated level. Tera Struck's period costumes are impressive. Ark Theatre, 1647 S. La Cienega Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru April 12. (323) 969-1707. (Lovell Estell III)

Shawn Bishop

Groundlings Swimsuit Edition

Ed Krieger

Orange Lemon Egg Canary

More About

Ed Krieger

(Click to enlarge)

Orange Lemon Egg Canary

(Click to enlarge)

Roar of the Tiger

ON AN AVERAGE DAY John Kolvenbach's 2000 play about two brothers in a hovel crunching through the wreckage of their lives, and the memory of their father, who abandoned them, is part Sam Shepard, part Lyle Kessler. This means that there's an opportunity for two actors (Johnny Clark and Stef Tovar) to Steppenwolf it up with gritty, emotive portrayals of the bro (Clark) who's lost a couple of brain cells on his way to prison — he threw some guy out of a moving car for no good reason — and the family man (Tovar), who's come home, neither to help nor to hurt his sibling, but to reconcile himself to lingering issues of abandonment. The rhythms of conflict and reconciliation play themselves out in a somewhat redundant cycle of crescendo and decrescendo, under Ron Klier's carefully wrought direction, and both actors are terrific. Though the taut dialogue flashes through shards of mystery, the play is so derivative, pro forma and pro formula, I found myself hoping that what I predicted would unfold, wouldn't. But it did anyway. And naming the brothers Jack and Bobby after the Kennedys is a gratuitous reach to layer the drama with American mythology. Danny Cistone's great set captures the clutter of a home maintained by somebody plunging into derangement, with so many layers of filth, the audience — like brother Jack — is tempted to plug its nose whenever that greasy fridge door is opened. Elephant Theatre Lab, 6324 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru March 22. A VS. Theatre Company production. (Steven Leigh Morris)

ORANGE LEMON EGG CANARY Playwright Rinne Groff's poignant and often beguiling drama depicts the complex parallels between love and magic, equating the irrationality of romantic love with the trickery and misdirection of a magician. Handsome professional magician Great (Brett Schneider) dazzles crowds with his amazing card tricks, but in his private life, he's a faithless manipulator with a history of breaking the hearts of his various stage assistants, who happen to be his lovers as well. When Great has a one-night stand with the beautiful waitress Trilby (Elizabeth V. Newman), she wants to become his new assistant and permanent lover. Complications ensue when Great's former lover (and former onstage assistant) Egypt (Martina Lotun) shows up again in Great's life, bent on revenge and trying to learn the secret to a legendary hypnosis-levitation trick. Although director Talya Klein's production is hampered by some pacing problems and patches of inert dialogue, the show teems liberally with magic tricks, which are nicely integrated within the story — keep an eye out for an amazing bit of throwaway shtick involving a floating water glass. Schneider is a charismatic and appealing performer, impressive as both an actor and a magician; he perfectly captures the surface warmth of a man whose inner self is vacant and needy. Newman's scruffy, but innocent, Trilby is touchingly contrasted with Lotun's glamorous, but soulless, Egypt. The Complex, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru April 5. EVN Productions and Village Muse Productions. (Paul Birchall)