Craig Schwartz
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Nic Cha Kim
“Hacienda Heights” from Ten to Life
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OCHRE & ONYX: THE LANGSTON HUGHES PROJECT Langston Hughes celebrated the notion of black as beautiful long before the slogan became a watchword for social change. Spotlighting our nation’s ongoing racial divisions, writer Lynn Manning’s message play attempts to make a connection between Hughes’ brief coming-of-age sojourn in Mexico in 1920-21 and the modern-day struggles of a young slam poet named Nubia (Lauryn Whitney) who must deal with her personal anger and prejudice. The latter scenario ignites around Nubia’s gnarly relationship with an affable African-Latina painter, Lisa (Melissa Camilo), who has enthusiastically sought out their artistic collaboration, but whom Nubia resents for her Hispanic roots. The play alternates between what happens with these women and the more interesting historical drama involving Hughes (Maurice Glover) and his crusty, domineering dad (Rodney Gardiner), who wants the poet to give up poetry and move to Mexico, where, as a black man, he can get some respect. Hughes’ early life — his tremendous emotional conflicts and the nascent beginnings of his inspirational ideas — is fascinating fodder for drama, but the script strays off the mark with painfully excessive melodrama and too much time spent showing the naïve hero learning to carouse with more jaded companions. Glover has a pleasant quality but his performance is none too deep. Whitney brings to the role lots of fierce passion (the poetry is terrific), but she’s hampered by the script’s overall didacticism. Under Nataki Garret’s direction, both she and Camilo come across as symbols for opposing attitudes rather than fully developed characters. Los Angeles Design Center, 5955 S. Western Ave., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through May 31. (323) 599-0811. A Watts Village Theater Company production. (Deborah Klugman)
GO TEN TO LIFE Leave logic at the door and you’ll get your full quota of laughs from this quartet of one-acts, each of which blends sci-fi, sex and absurdity in an entertaining way. Written by Annette Lee, “Hacienda Heights” is about a homicidal teen (Ewan Chung) living with a sexually predatory and abusive mom (Janet Song) and even more abusive grandmom (Emily Kuroda). Off to commit mass murder, he’s forestalled when his alternate self (Feodor Chin) arrives from another dimension to redirect his aggression toward the villains at home. In Nic Cha Kim’s “RE:verse” (the evening’s funniest and most satisfying), a man (Chung) headed for his 10th high-school reunion undergoes extensive cosmetic surgery at a bargain-basement price; the catch is that it’s for three days only, after which he’ll revert — at an inconvenient moment, of course, else it wouldn’t be funny — to his former self. Tim Lounibos’ “Be Happy” concerns the power struggle between a psychiatrist (Chin) and his patient-wife (Peggy Ahn). The setup is confusing at first and it’s a bit of a wait to the final payoff — but worth it. Judy Soo Hoo’s “The Red Dress” is about a married woman (Song) who, strangely, keeps insisting to her husband (Elpido Ebuen) that they renew the warranty on her “red dress” — a plea he rejects, precipitating hellish consequences. No small part of the production’s humor comes courtesy of designer Dennis Yen’s sound and Christopher M. Singleton’s lighting; the latter highlights the erotic and/or gruesome scenarios that intermittently play out behind set designer Philippe Levine’s classy sliding screens. GTC Burbank, 1111-B W. Olive Ave., Toluca Lake; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through June 7. (818) 238-9998. A Londestone Theatre Ensemble production. (Deborah Klugman)
