NIGHTS OF NOIR: MARKED FOR LOVE/OF DICKS AND DAMES In this pair of one-acts, writer-director Kasey Wilson parodies 1940s film noir by introducing private eye Bolt (Scott Gerard), who though not exactly Sam Spade, is nevertheless good for some laughs. In Marked for Love, the impavid Bolt, who hasn’t had a case in three months, is seen asleep at his desk when he is visited by the seductive, black-clad Vivian (Elizabeth V. Newman), who needs a purloined painting recovered. Solving the crime is not easy, as Bolt must contend with a jealous cohort (Mike Park), a shadowy thin guy (Drew Droege), deception at every turn, as well as his own engaging ineptitude. Of Dicks and Dames is not as cleverly written but still serves up its share of humor. Here, Bolt is enmeshed in a megaconvoluted case involving a missing woman (Lauren Leonelli), the murder of a sinister purveyor of porn (Droege), a creepy, peg-leg German (Eric Charles Jorgenson), and Viola Shylock (Jan Pessin), whose appearance comes courtesy of the Bard. There is more style than substance here, but it eventually adds up to an evening of fun and laughs. And for an added bit of spice, Wilson (a.k.a. Honey Ima Home), does a smoking-hot burlesque routine between acts. Attic Theater and Film Center, 5429 W. Washington Blvd.; LA. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; through June 27. (323) 960-1055. (Lovell Estell III)
GO PAY ATTENTION: ADHD IN HOLLYWOOD, ON THE ROCKS WITH A TWIST In his engaging solo show, writer-actor Frank South describes himself as beset by “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, hypomania, alcoholism and issues with authority.” Despite — or perhaps because of — that baggage, he survived 20 years in Hollywood as a writer-director-producer for such TV classics as Melrose Place, Cagney & Lacey and Baywatch. Like a metaphor for his affliction, South unflappably jumps from one tale to another and back again, giving us a taste of his often-jumbled world. Under Mark Travis’ direction, South chillingly personifies his affliction as a screeching imp who constantly orders him to do the wrong thing at the wrong time. South’s stories about two of his mentors — the maverick director Robert Altman, who lectured the insecure South to trust his own judgment; and the consummate Hollywood insider Aaron Spelling, whom South claims stabbed him in the back — are hilarious, instructive and poignant. At times struggling for lines and almost forgetting the name of an actress with whom he worked, South overcomes these dilemmas to deliver a funny and bittersweet tale of someone who, while not conquering them, has at least been able to keep his demons in check. Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 Fourth St.; Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 6 p.m.; through June 7. (323) 960-7738. A Guest Production (Martín Hernández)
Ed Krieger
Nights of Noir
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RANTOUL AND DIE Mark Roberts’ bleak comedy has four great characters and a half-dozen great speeches in search of a point. Set in Rantoul, Illinois, it opens with Gary (Paul Dillon) counseling heartbroken bud Rallis (Rich Hutchman) on his pending divorce from Debbie (Cynthia Ettinger), who works down at the Dairy Queen. Gary is a redneck mystic and self-described tiger; his approach to keeping Rallis from slicing his wrists is to choke the fear of death in him. With the entrance of the cruel and curvaceous Debbie (who’s hell-bent on keeping the house and Honda) and her cat-lady boss Callie (Lisa Rothschiller), Roberts opens several inviting routes for his play to explore grief, guilt and mercenary lust. Instead, it stalls, with repetitive arguments and shocks that don’t register as the nasty fun we crave. Director Erin Quigley gets fun performances from her four leads and gives each their moment to hold court over production designer David Harwell’s painstakingly accurate suburban ranch house, complete with dogs that bark each time a character slams the front door in frustration. Lillian Theatre, 1076 Lillian Way, Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through July 4. (323) 960-4424 or www.rantoulanddie.com. (Amy Nicholson)
GO SETUP & PUNCH Director Daniel Henning seamlessly moves the action between the past and the present in Mark Saltzman’s highly original new comedy. After a bitter 10-year breakup with former writing partner Vanya (Hedy Burress), Brian (Andrew Leeds) contacts her about the copyright to a children’s show they co-produced. Through a series of letters, the breakup of the once happy writing duo is laid bare. The two met at Cornell, and Vanya followed Brian to New York City to kick-start his Broadway aspirations. They audition for a revue, but are told to collaborate with Jan (a mesmerizing P.J. Griffith), a rock star and composer. As the twosome becomes a threesome, Vanya’s unrequited love for Brian, a deeply closeted gay man, spills through. However, Jan, a sexual libertine, opens the closet door for Brian. The sexual tension is one contributing factor to Vanya and Brian’s breakup, but when Vanya is hired for a TV series they had both been working on, Brian goes ballistic. All of this is revealed through a series of letters, which become e-mails, which become phone calls, as the two draw near a rapprochement. Performed without an intermission, Henning keeps the action moving at a brisk pace, even as the two compose letters. Griffith also performs in the smaller role of Miguel, a once-raucous Cornell classmate who has diverged onto a spiritual path. Second Stage Theatre, 6500 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through June 21. (323) 661-9827. A Blank Theatre Company production (Sandra Ross)
