Theater Reviews: Kooza, Chesapeake, Private Eyes

Also, Stray, Wonder of the World, and more

Comments (0) By L.A. Weekly Theater Critics Wednesday, Oct 21 2009

AMERICAN GRIND An amalgam of the work of four writers and two directors, this hybrid piece falls somewhere between sketch comedy and a full-fledged play. Set in a coffee house, it features five or six overlapping scenarios. Kevyn (Michael Ponte) is a self-styled self-help guru who is using the venue to recruit clientele. Tudi (writer Cheri Anne Johnson), the white half of an interracial couple, is convinced she’s a black woman born into a white body (in the same way some transsexuals believe that in them, nature’s gone awry). Tudi’s looking to create a rapport between her uptight suburban parents (Charles Marti and Christina L. Mason) and her lover (Daniel Valery), a condescending hipster — while coping with the painful reality of his other women. Betty (writer Tracy Lane) and Nick (writer Andrew Hamrick) are a librarian and high school teacher, respectively — both looking for love and too petrified to acknowledge they may have found it in each other. Rose (Lauren Benge) a fatherless teen distraught over her pregnancy, gets help from Joe (Cooper Anderson), who once abandoned his family. Co-directed by P.J. Marshall and Jennifer Cetrone, the production aims to meld its various plots into a cohesive whole, but the result is closer to a choppily aligned jigsaw. Most of the performances are capable or better, but stronger direction would improve them. The writing is also strong in some places, in need of sharpening in others. E. Yarber is one of the four writers. Lyric-Hyperion Theater, 2106 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; through November 21. fromthegrounduptheatre. A From the Ground Up Theater Company production. (Deborah Klugman)

Ed Krieger

Wonder of the World

Courtesy From the Ground Up Theatre Company

American Grind

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AS WHITE AS O Against the backdrop of a New York art show titled “The Innocents: 30 Years of Outsider Art in America,” this world premiere of novelist Stacy Sims’ first dramatic endeavor explores synesthesia, a condition in which senses are cross-wired so that feelings are “tasted” and letters and numbers appear in specific colors, among other things. The “outsiders,” in this case, are Jack (Vince Tula) and his father, Sam (Mark St. Amant), who both spent much of Jack’s childhood in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, festooning their modest backwoods cabin with the detritus of our consumer society. While such decoration was therapeutic for them after losing Jack’s mother, Grace (Elizabeth Sampson), they are discovered by Clara (Lauren Clark), a documentary filmmaker who becomes interested in the house and in Sam. Running parallel to this story line, adult Jack is the subject of another work in the same show by Ed (Ramon Campos), who interviews and videotapes Jack in order to create his piece. The play fluidly oscillates between the present and the past, and accomplished director Sam Anderson deftly handles the transitions, though his pacing and shaping of his characters’ emotional climaxes are a bit uneven. Desma Murphy’s set, enhanced by Jeremy Pivnick’s subtly shifting lighting, is wonderfully detailed and spatially enhances the piece’s thematic elements. The cast has moments of inspiration, but only Sampson consistently delivers the emotional energy required of Sims’ script, which itself would be strengthened by fewer tangential story lines, and a stronger central plot. The Road Theatre, 5108 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through December 12. (866) 811-4111. (Mayank Keshaviah)

GO CHESAPEAKE There’s much to enjoy in Lee Blessing’s philosophic monodrama — so long as you don’t expect too much logic and credibility. It’s a fantastic, cockeyed parable about a naive, idealistic performance artist named Kerr (Mark Thomsen), who’s heavily influenced by Italian Futurist writer Filippo Marinetti. When he performs a nude rendition of the biblical “Song of Songs,” Kerr is condemned as a pornographer by ultraconservative Senator Therm Pooley, who’s hell-bent on killing off the National Endowment for the Arts. Pooley has a dog, a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Lucky, which gives him a folksy, vote-getting aura. In a far-fetched scheme, Kerr decides to kidnap Lucky as a piece of reality-based performance art. His plans go awry, Lucky is accidentally killed, and Kerr is mysteriously transformed into a retriever, who looks exactly like Lucky. He’s adopted by Pooley, who’s convinced that he’s a messenger from God. Thomsen is a skillful, likable performer, who finds rich comedy in the plight of a man who’s half human and half dog. The play’s dizzy twists and turns don’t entirely add up, but director Martin Bedoian gives it a clever, funny production, and Thomsen’s performance alone is worth the trip. CTG Theatre, 1111-B West Olive Ave., Burbank; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through October 31. Produced by Syzygy Theatre Group. (800) 838-3006 or Syzygytheatre.org. (Neal Weaver)

CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT Vampires have saturated pop culture to the point that it seems impossible it could hold one more drop of blood. Scott Martin’s musical takes us back 112 years, when hobbyist, writer and backstage grunt Bram Stoker (Robert Patteri) can’t get any interest in the first reading of his new play, Dracula. The cast and audience think it mediocre and cornball. Worse, though Stoker wrote the role of the Count for the great actor Sir Henry Irving (Gordon Goodman), his longtime business partner, he refuses to play the part. Irving’s excuse is that Dracula is ghastly trash; besides, he adds, “I’ve never played a Romanian.” We suspect it’s that Irving also sees too much of himself in the role; he’s been sucking Stoker dry for 20 years. There are the bones of an interesting musical about predatory friendship and faith in your creative instincts, but the play’s thrust is merely about whether Stoker and champion Ellen Terry (Teri Bibb, very good) can sway Irving’s mind. When Goodman bites into the Count’s dialogue, he’s so terrifying and imperious we agree with Stoker’s fixation. Mostly, this is a handsomely wrought production that putters, and the songs that fuel it could be transplanted into dozens of other musicals by scarcely tweaking the lyrics. Under David Galligan’s direction, the strong ensemble looks and sounds great, with supporting players Gabrielle Wagner, Ashley Cuellar, Melissa Bailey and Gibby Brand flaunting their comic timing in the numbers “How Do I Get a Part with the D’Oyly Carte?” and “The Scottish Play.” Beverly Hills Playhouse, 254 S. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through November 1. A Katselas Theatre Company production. (310) 358-9936. (Amy Nicholson)