Theater Reviews: Treefall, One Woman, Two Lives, The Miser
Also, A Hatful of Rain, Franz Schubert: His Letters and Music and more
GOLIATH During the Israeli pullout from Gaza in 2005, the Israeli soldiers, displaced settlers and incoming Palestinians could agree on one thing — each claimed to be defending their people against a bully. Everyone is David, but no one cops to being Goliath, begging the question: Does Goliath exist, and if so, would he recognize himself? In this heavy-handed parable, we have Gittel (Laura Flanangan) and her teenage son David (Wyatt Fenner), whom she conceived in Manhattan and raised Jewish Orthodox in the Gaza Strip in an effort to distance themselves from her own misspent youth. Gittel raises tulips, a metaphor of desert life that escapes no one. Her flower business is so lucrative, she’s made quasilegal arrangements to leave it to her Palestinian employee Ayat (Anna Khaja) in the face of the Israeli government’s decision to relocate Jewish settlements away from Gaza. David has all the usual acting-out issues plus a savior complex, blood lust and an excitement that the pending eviction of his family will give him cause to start an uprising. His closest enemies are the Israeli soldiers in charge of relocation, Yair (Richard Knolla) and Michal (Ayana Hampton), even though they’re trying to position themselves as his friends. They even brought a pet carrier for his dog (though the creature died months ago). Karen Hartman’s play is meant to be fair to all sides, and it often is, but young David is so increasingly psychotic that we lose tolerance for his being treated with tolerance; the audience is far more hostile to his cause than are the characters in the play — even Yair when David threatens the Israeli soldier with castration. Under Marya Mazor’s direction, the play feels fundamentally disconnected from reality. These five characters are so devoted to their arguments — all phrased in identical mock-Biblical poetics — that they’re slow to react to dramas happening 5 feet away. The inadvertent but oddly appropriate result is the depiction of an inert myopia that suffocates the kind of reason and mediation that might lead to actual progress. Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Sat., Aug. 8, 3 & 8 p.m.; Sun., Aug. 9, 3 p.m.; Thurs., Aug. 13, 8 p.m.; Fri., Aug. 14, 8 p.m.; Sun., Aug. 16, 3 p.m. (323) 882-6912. (Amy Nicholson)
GO A HATFUL OF RAIN Directed by Dean Kreyling in a lively revival, Michael Gazzo’s play centers on the issue of morphine addiction. Johnny (a ghostly Chris Devlin) is a returning Korean War vet who got hooked while hospitalized. (The play is double-cast). He’s been successfully hiding his addiction from his wife Celia (Tania Gonzalez) and from his father (Joseph Cardinale) — but not from his brother Polo (Gad Erel), who’s paid off his dealers before. This time Johnny is $800 in debt. His dealers drop by with an ultimatum: Pay the money or wind up in the hospital. Jonesing for his next fix, Johnny takes a gun in search of the money, staying out all night but to no avail. When the hoods arrive the next day, Polo agrees to sell his car to cover Johnny’s debt. But who will bail Johnny out the next time? The drug dealers are a colorful, menacing crew: Mother (Jeremy Radin), Apples (James Lyons) and Church (Aaron Leddick). Radin engages in some very funny stage business, and while he may steal some scenes, it’s Erel who nearly walks away with the entire production. This actor exudes chrarisma and raw sexuality. Cardinale puts in a nuanced turn as the vitriolic patriarch. Skylight Theater, 1816 1/2 N. Vermont Ave., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Aug. 23. www.katselastheatre.org. (310) 358-9936. A Katselas Theatre Company production. (Sandra Ross)
LOVE, SEX, VIOLENCE, etc. Playwright Helena Weltman’s six playlets might best be described as sketch dramedy. These character-driven slices of life boast a penchant for ironic twists but provide little of the titillation that the title suggests. The outing begins auspiciously with “Saturday Night Date,” in which a barroom pickup between two strangers (in fascinating portrayals by Lizze Czerner and Danny Grossman) turns into an intriguingly dangerous battle of wits, before a disappointing ending that sound like an old joke. The second offering, “Sitting in a Tree” provides a great opportunity for an actor to play appealingly crazy — Stephanie R. Keefer fulfills this mission as a woman desperate for a child. “Date” is directed with terse humor by Daniel Cerny, and “Tree” with emotional abandon by his father Pavel Cerny. Both directors successfully draw the audience into each work’s disparate styles. The next four plays, however, lack the textual depth and the acting skills to match the first two. A great deal of sexual innuendo and crossed-wire communication causes human complication but not a real sense of dramatic tension. Production values throughout are extremely simple, with only a few props and set pieces to define the worlds. Oscar Schwartz’s costumes, though, are a bit more intricate and help to tell the various stories. Whitefire Theater, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; Sun., 3 p.m.; through August 30. (866) 811-4111. (Tom Provenzano)
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