Theater Reviews: All in the Timing, Hair, Life Could Be a Dream

GO  EL VERDE: ¡VIVA LA FRITA! Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of El Verde (writer-performer Anthony Aguilar), a masked superhero in Fictional City, USA, with a fondness for green and “powers even he isn’t sure of”? In this third installment of the cheeky comic book spoof, pop artist Candy Warhol (Jeremiah Ocañas) is dedicating a clothing line to the dauntless El Verde but is thwarted by the nefarious Frita Kahlo (the hilarious, scene-stealing Karla Ojeda), a criminal mastermind with a mania for monkeys and mind control. As El Verde matches wits with Frita, who plots to seize the cloaked crusader’s popularity and expose his secret identity, his devotion to duty threatens his marriage to the long-suffering Martha (Blanca Melchor). Interspersed are parodies of TV commercials, from Dos XX’s “World’s most interesting man” send-up, written by director Alejandra Cisneros, to hip-hopping insects in the PSA for a bug support group, penned by Gabriela Lopez de Dennis, plus playful swipes at L.A.’s own amorous mayor. Due to the small stage, Cisneros has some awkward moments in the blocking, but her comic timing and exuberant cast — and mellifluous announcer, Oscar Basulto — compensate for any technical blemishes. CASA 0101, 2009 E. First St., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m.; through Aug. 30. (323) 263-7684. (Martín Hernández)

FERNANDO While it would be pleasant to report that Steven Haworth’s tale of love and art challenges the boundaries of drama in some innovative way, this strangely slight opus — part of the Open Fist Theatre Company’s eight-week First Look festival — turns out to be a prosaic romantic comedy. Priggish, mediocre art historian Zacharia Smythe (Bjorn Johnson) is in Madrid to research Fernando de la Cruz, a minor Spanish artist who vanished mysteriously several years ago. While examining one of Fernando’s paintings for clues, Smythe gets into an argument with a sultry, fiery museum curator named Teresa (Persia White), who finds Smythe arrogant and repulsive. Teresa’s disgust with Smythe’s manners notwithstanding, the pair embarks upon a tempestuous and unlikely affair — during which Smythe discovers that his new amor used to be the lover of the artist he’s searching for. Haworth’s play is at its most involving when we’re left guessing as to whether the ambiguous Teresa truly loves Smythe or is just using him to locate Fernando for her own purposes. Midway through, however, the piece falters into the zone of stock romantic farce, hampered by the contrived nature of the central relationship: Why would a brilliant, assured beauty like Teresa fall for a glum shlub like Zach? Although the show is salvaged by White’s charismatic and peppery turn as the Spanish ice princess, the piece is otherwise weakened by the writer’s heavy reliance on stock characters. Charles Otte’s fast-paced staging is offset by the main characters’ strange lack of chemistry, which undercuts the intended romance. Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Sat., Aug. 15, 8 p.m. (323) 882-6912. (Paul Birchall)

GO  HAIR An exuberant ensemble brings Gerome Ragni, James Rado and Galt MacDermot’s 1967 rock musical to life, provoking reflections on a fleeting moment of Quixotic defiance against both war in South East Asia and the marketing machine at home. Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sat., 3 p.m., Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; through Aug. 23. (714) 777-3033. (Steven Leigh Morris) See Theater feature.

GO  HORROR FEST These four horror-themed vignettes run the gamut from the darkly humorous to ghoulish. The bill opens with Zombie Joe’s creepy “Procession of Devils.” As directed by Denise Devin, it’s a delightfully grotesque danse macabre with Kyle Clare, Amelia Megan Gotham, Conrad Lawson, Billy Minogue and Rhea Richardson as a brood of flesh-eaters whose insatiable appetites cause them to turn on one of their own. The script is as unsettling as the performers’ eerie, orgiastic movements. Ada Neubauer directs Greg Kaczynski’s “End of the Road” with Jim Eshom and Gotham portraying tattered survivors of an apocalyptic event who are forced to inhabit an abandoned building. Reduced to eating polluted canned goods and reminiscing about their former lives, they eventually fall prey to the darker forces surrounding them. Prosaic writing doesn’t complement the actors’ energetic performances, and the director’s overuse of gory effects doesn’t help. In Eshom’s “A Lesson Learned,” Jana Wimer and Lucas Salazar are forced to take refuge in a derelict house because of a storm; the house’s bloody history and restless spirits make the evening fatally memorable. Gotham’s direction and technical design are nothing short of superb. Neubauer’s “Growing” is a riotously funny take on a mad scientist. Dr. Scofield (the fine Conrad Lawson) plays a desperately unhinged inventor whose master plan is to create a new life form called “Victa Proventus” (Andrew Fish in a hoot of a creaturely costume). But, alas, the experiment goes awry and starts to feast on everything in sight. Wimer cleverly directs. Zombie Joe’s Theater Group, 4850 Lankershim Blvd., N. Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8:30 p.m.; through Aug. 29. (818) 202-4120. (Lovell Estell III)