ABSINTHE, OPIUM, AND MAGIC; GAY APPAREL: A CHRISTMAS CAROL, THE HOUSE OF BESARAB

Also, Pandora, Wacademia, the Santaland Diaries, Stated Income and more

Comments (0) By L.A. Weekly Theater Critics Wednesday, Dec 9 2009

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THE HOUSE OF BESARAB Anyone expecting Tamara II may want to give a pass to this disappointing adaptation of Dracula. Though the production shares the venue — the landmark Hollywood American Legion Post — that housed the legendary environmental stage hit and promises a similarly immersive theatrical experience, playwrights Terance Duddy (who directs and is also the set and light designer) and Theodore Ott’s anemic text simply pales before the full-blooded characterizations and labyrinthine simultaneity that made Tamara so richly rewarding. Here the Post stands in for Castle Dracula as Dracula (Michael Hegedus) himself appears in the atrium to welcome the assembled audience “to witness a battle between good and evil.” In point of fact, what ensues is essentially the final chapter of Bram Stoker’s novel embroidered with the reincarnation-romance subplot of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film version and a bizarre, mad-scientist twist worthy of Roger Corman. The audience can either follow the Count and his servile assistant, Renfield (David Himes) into “the Great Hall” or wait for Dr. Van Helsing (Travis Michael Holder), Dr. Seward (Jessica Pagan understudying for Terra Shelman) and Harker (Dane Bowman), who soon arrive with a somnambulent Mina (Chase McKenna) on a mission to save her vampire-baptized soul. (Hint: Follow Van Helsing; he’s where the action — and the better writing — is.) Despite the capable cast’s game effort and some elegant costuming by Sara Spink (who also does a fine turn as one of Dracula’s very pregnant brides), a lackluster production design and stolid direction only compound the exposition-laden script’s failure to realize its environmental-theater ambitions. Hollywood American Legion, 2305 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 9 p.m.; Sun., 8 p.m.; through December 20. (310) 203-2850. (Bill Raden)

PANDORA This revisionist retelling of the myth of Pandora’s box was created by director Ben Cox and the ensemble. In it, we’re presented with two Pandoras. The mythical Pandora (Victoria Truscott) is created by Prometheus the Fire-Giver (Chris Thorpe) as a wife/lover for Epimetheus (Willie Zelensky), and sent into the world with a mysterious box she’s told she must never open. Curiosity gets the better of her, she opens the box and unwittingly releases all the troubles that beset humankind — but also hope, which makes the troubles and woes bearable. The modern Pandora (Sarah Casolaro) is a more familiar figure: Raised by her mother (Faryl Saliman Reingold), with an absent father, she has real instinct for picking cruel, unreliable men. She uses her box to contain negative feelings that threaten to engulf her. The show has many virtues, including effective songs and dances, and the large ensemble is capable and dedicated. But the production bears too many traces of its self-conscious, overly earnest acting-workshop origins. The mostly black costumes, and scenes played in virtual darkness, create an overall murkiness, and pacing is disastrously languid. Numerous short scenes, separated by overlong blackouts, vitiate the proceedings and make for flagging interest. Stella Adler Theater, 6773 Hollywood Blvd.; Thurs.-Sun., 8 p.m., through December 20. neoacrotheatre.com. A Neo Acro Theatre Company production. (Neal Weaver)

Dane Bowman

The House of Besarab

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GO ROBBIE JENSEN: THE 12 STEPS OF CHRISTMAS Into Shane Birdsill’s slick, corporate-style set, complete with flip charts, graphic posters and a flat-panel TV display, self-help “guru” Robbie Jensen (Tony Matthews, who co-wrote the piece with Matt Schofield) comes bounding to work his magic with the audience. It is December at the Marriott in Woodland Hills, and from the outset Jensen gets his audience clapping and participating in call and response as he introduces his “Four Steps to the Five Happinesses,” all while employing a series of Colbert-esque malapropisms. Matthews’ engaging force of personality and smiling eyes draw you in as he relates the story of his friend Enrique from Colombia and his sister Fallopia to demonstrate the effectiveness of the rehabilitative “Robbie House” run by Jensen and his offstage wife. In the second and third acts, set in Philadelphia and Des Moines, respectively, Jensen brings members of the audience up onstage, but Jensen, now separated from his wife, has begun drinking and his seminar falls apart, though not without the hilarity that ensues from inebriation. Director Craig Woolson keeps Matthews in constant motion, which fits his character well, and Matthews’ conversations with himself on the video screen are well-timed and executed. Outside of a first act that drags near the end and which could use some editing, the rest of the show offers an amusing evening of interactive entertainment. NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd., N. Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through December 20. (323) 960-1053. (Mayank Keshaviah)

THE SANTALAND DIARIES That master of NPR snark, David Sedaris, sinks his claws into Claus in his artful monologue about the relentless Hell we know better as Christmastime Customer Service. In director Michael Matthews’ intimate and straightforward solo show, the narrator of Sedaris’ tale, performer Nicholas Brendon, gets a gig as a Macy’s department store elf during the weeks before Christmas. Any thoughts that the newly minted elf might come away from the experience with a sense of faith in mankind’s goodwill almost instantly wear away under the relentless tide of screeching children, selfish and boorish parents, and seemingly demented Santas. And what a rogues’ gallery the Great Christmas Public is, running the gamut from barfing children and foul-mouthed parents to co-workers as deranged as they are elfin. Although Sedaris’ hero is working in the most ignominious gig, the World of Holiday Fun — amusing on its own terms — the story’s barbed depiction of the retail world will ring drolly true to anyone who has ever had a job when they can’t talk back to the rude and the disgusting. Brendon is an appealing performer who makes Sedaris’ story his own, nicely conveying the sense of a character whose toothy, cheerful grin masks the disdain of the passive-aggressive store clerk. If there’s a problem with Sedaris’ play, it’s that the material is almost aggressively lightweight, with the dramatic heft of a scrap of Christmas wrapping paper. Still, if you’re into funny jokes about awful customers, the show’s frothy charm has appeal. 2nd Stage Theatre, 6500 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 5 p.m.; through December 20. theblank.com, (323) 661-9827. A Blank Theatre Company production. (Paul Birchall)