THE SINGING SKELETON The first hour of Stefan Marks’ satire of actors and their odd relationship to theater finds hilarious truth in the absurdity of the odyssey of inexperienced but emotionally connected artists trying to find a path through Hollywood. Spouting eye-rolling platitudes about acting techniques and script-writing, several characters might easily become two-dimensional jokes, but Marks’ ear for actor lingo and a fine cast allow the play to weave a tight fabric of reality out of the ludicrous. Most successful is Barrett Shuler, with a brilliant, deadpan portrayal of Brandon, a first-time playwright nearly as passionate about the work as he is about gorgeous Hannah (Jessica Kepler), whom he hopes to cast (and kiss) as his star. Brian Taubman as his clueless best friend; Mark Gadbois as an aging and idiotic macho actor; and Matt Weight as an Australian pretty boy join in to make this journey through Equity Waiver heartbreakingly funny. The title is not metaphoric but literal, as a singing skeleton (Marks) punctuates the play and play-within-a-play with pithy songs beautifully sung to acoustic guitar. Sadly, Act 2 disintegrates into cheap sketch, still garnering laughs, but from feeble jokes rather than clever insights. Occasionally the foolishness pauses for a melodramatic moment, but the play never regains the polish and painfully funny beauty of Act 1. Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; through June 27. (888) 201-0804. Crooked Arrow Productions (Tom Provenzano)
GO TRAFFICKING IN BROKEN HEARTS There’s something hauntingly familiar about Edwin Sanchez’s lowlife romance, and I don’t mean its pre-Giuliani, 42nd Street locale, so palpably invoked by Sanchez and director Efrain Schunior’s blistering stage poetry. The block’s sordid miasma of peepshows, seedy hotel rooms, gay movie houses and Port Authority men’s rooms — cleverly represented in designer Marika Stephens’ triptych of skeletal, neon-trimmed, box scaffolds — comprises the track where Puerto Rican street veteran Papo (a soulful Ramon Camacho) hustles the tricks of his rough trade. It’s also where he falls for Brian (Stephen Twardokus), a chronically repressed attorney and 26-year-old virgin so tangled in the apron strings of a domineering mother that he can’t consummate a hooker-john liaison much less engage in an openly gay relationship. In the meantime, Papo will have to settle for the runaway, Bobby (Elijah Trichon), a 16-year-old package of dangerously damaged goods, who only wants to make Papo a good wife. The arrangement quickly develops into a volatile mix of vulnerability, unrequited desire and wounded pride just waiting for the inevitable spark. Of course, Papo is no hard-bitten Ratso Rizzo; he’s descended from an even more ancient line of Hollywood hokum: the proverbial hooker with a heart of gold. Credit Schunior’s skillful sleight of hand, and riveting performances by Camacho and Twardokus for selling such a shamelessly adolescent fantasy, which may be the greatest hustle of the show. Celebration Theatre, 7051-B Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through June 7. (323) 957-1884 or www.tix.com. (Bill Raden)
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UPTON SINCLAIR’S SINGING JAILBIRDS: THE MUSICAL Created by Ray Buffer and composer Robert Gross, this pro–working man musical is adapted from Upton Sinclair’s 1924 melodrama about an ad hoc labor leader jailed for speaking out against a company’s brutally repressive management. Sinclair probably derived inspiration from his own incarceration for a similarly defiant act, which took place a year prior, at a gathering of striking dockworkers at Liberty Hill in San Pedro. Unlike Sinclair, who was soon released, his leading character, Red (Paul Rorie), languishes in a tiny rat-infested cell for an indefinite period. During that time he becomes subject to hallucinogenic fantasies and flashbacks that tell of a loving marriage destroyed by impoverished circumstances. The drama also includes courtroom sequences, and other prison scenes showing men cooped up like chickens; in this adaptation’s most effective scene, a ruthless police official (Adam S.) orders the cell’s windows shut, and the men drop one by one. Buffer, who directs, stages the action on the huge proscenium of San Pedro’s Warner Grand Theatre. The performers tend to look diminished, but Buffer partially compensates with an effective two-tiered set; in some ways, the small cell on a large stage optimizes the theme of a little man at the mercy of larger forces. Otherwise, the production, worthy for its subject matter, has major problems: too many repetitive musical numbers; vocals out of synch with their behind-the-scenes orchestration; questionable lighting; and performances that need serious professional polishing. Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. Sixth St., San Pedro; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m.; through May 31. (310) 929-8129. A Relevant Stage Theatre Company production (Deborah Klugman)
