Theater Reviews: Chico's Angels: Chicas in Chains, Hello, Merrily We Roll Along

GO  HELLO You may not find logic in this quirky tale about love, marriage and the enigma of sexual attraction but you'll recognize a lot of human truth. Riddled with irony and dark dry humor, writer-director-performer Stefan Marks' take on the Mars-Venus conundrum revolves around the coming together and splitting apart — not necessarily in that order — of two misfit individuals: Clark (Marks), a nerdy statistician for whom human bonding is basically a mystery; and Alice (Beth Patrik), an insecure and painfully candid writer of children's books who understands what love is about but can't make a successful connection any more easily than Clark can. The more conventionally-charted of the duo, Alice searches for true love through Internet dating, while Clark — an incontestably weird personality — makes random phone calls to households where he inquires about the age and sex of the residents. Eventually, these star-crossed lovers meet in a dream, later in a real life supermarket — or do they? In fact, we're never actually sure how much of this strange courtship and marriage is mere imaginative conjuring. That's less important, however, than what the play says about the way we lie to ourselves. Directing oneself can be foolhardy, but that's not so in this case. Framed by a black backdrop, with white paper panels to emphasize their purposefully maladroit entrances and exits, Marks and Patrik execute a comedic and accomplished pas de deux. Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru Oct. 30. (888) 210-0183. (Deborah Klugman)

A LIGHT IN THE SHADOWS Chiaroscuro is the Italian term for an artist's use of light and shadow in a piece to create contrast and three-dimensional volume. When absent, the piece looks flat and lifeless, the way European art often appeared in pre-Renaissance times. Sadly, the latter description is also an apt one for A.F. Cronin's play about the New York art world in modern times. In it, well-known artist Adam Gardner (Roy Werner) is in a mid-career slump until his flamboyantly conniving agent Matieu (Rich Skidmore) discovers Adam's sketches, which he leaks to prominent art patron Erika (Mary Buckley). The two of them concoct a plan to sell the sketches and inspire Adam to create more via a new figure model, a bratty art student named Phoebe (Brenna Rhea). Chock-full of eye-rollingly painful lines, the script feels as bland as an after school special—a perception not ameliorated by Cronin's direction, which clearly needed a third-party perspective. The result is a lack of chemistry between actors, jokes that fall flat, and all-too-frequent blackouts between scenes that only highlight their lack of depth and character development. Rhea is the sole cast member who demonstrates any energy on stage, but even she is limited by lines that lean too heavily on stereotypical lingo that makes her sound more like 13 than 18. In retrospect, perhaps the shadows should have remained unlit. Miles Memorial Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Oct. 10. (310) 458-3377. theatreforasmallspace.com A Theatre for a Small Space Production. (Mayank Keshaviah)

PHOTO BY MIKE PINGEL

Chico's Angels

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THE MAIDEN'S PRAYER At 6, Paul (Adam Howard) was fascinated by his neighbor Taylor (James Elden) and his bright blond hair. Paul didn't yet know the word for gay. (He's now an expert.) His draw was even simpler: Taylor's a human magnet. Which explains how two decades later, Paul's stuck on the porch at Taylor's wedding while the bride Cynthia (Stephanie Marquis) and her sister Libby (Sarah Kelly) fight over who loved him first. Cynthia's an iron-willed princess. Libby's a mess, the type who cavalierly apologizes for her self-absorption, and director Dan Fishbach encourages Kelly to deliver her to scream her lines. Nicky Silver's dramedy thrusts them together to explore the power struggles that come from neediness, and his script is a tricky mishmash of a sitcom that evolves into soap opera. Fishbach takes both at face value, and the result is schizophrenic: a melodrama that's constantly being punctured by forced jokes and a pointless fifth wheel character (Isaac Laskin as a series of Paul's conquests) -- all delivered by characters who we're primed to think of as cartoons. As Taylor, the center spoke, Elden needs to find and flaunt the magnetism that puts the play in motion. Only Marquis as the sugary, steely Cynthia navigates the balancing act: Like the play itself, she's chirpy, charming and full of unexplored depths. Actor's Workout Studio, 4747 Lankershim Blvd., N. Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru Oct. 30. (818) 506-3903. (Amy Nicholson)

GO  MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG It's hard to believe that this Stephen Sondheim musical gem was laughed out of town when it premiered in New York in 1981. It's an engaging, cautionary tale about the unexpected perils that often accompany professional success, and Richard Israel's revival is first rate. The book is by George Furth, and follows two decades in the lives of three friends, all of whom aspire to succeed in show business. The action starts in reverse order, beginning in 1976 and ending in 1957, and opens at a soiree for successful composer and movie producer Franklin Shepard (an excellent Christopher Maikish standing in for Brent Schindele). It isn't long before things turns ugly, when writer Mary Flynn (Leslie Spencer), tells him off in a drunken rage. Later, in an emotionally powerful moment, he gets the same treatment on a radio show from his longtime collaborator and lyricist Charley (Matt Bauer), who sings a scintillating ditty called Franklin "Shepard, Inc." Furth's book (adapted from a 1934 play by George Kaufman and Moss Hart) nimbly tracks their lives, friendships, successes and failures, and culminates in a final scene where the three are gathered on a rooftop, starry-eyed and optimistic, searching the sky for Sputnik -- an apt symbol of their outsized ambitions.. As with all of Sondheim's work, the music is the thing, and Musical Director Johanna Kent's live six-piece band is as stellar as that nighttime sky. The 14-member ensemble hit just about all the notes perfectly. Israel's staging isn't flashy — a discretion that makes his production all the more effective. Actors' Co-op at the Crossley Theatre, 1760 N. Gower St., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun, 2:30 p.m.; thru Oct. 24. (323) 462-8460. (Lovell Estell III)