Theater Reviews: Chinese Coffee, Daddy, Love, Sex and the IRS

GREEDY The opening tableau of Karl Gajdusek's comedy gives the impression that an engaging evening of theater will follow. While motoring along on a rainy night, Paul (Kurt Fuller) receives a call on his cell phone from a distraught woman who promises him a startling amount of money in exchange for his help. After this tantalizing, cryptic exchange, however, the script turns both puzzling and effete. The origin of the call is a pair of sibling scammers who are out for a good score. Louis (Brad Raider) is a luftmensch and inventor of sorts who hopes that a grotesque contraption he calls a "Kofi" machine will make him rich; sister Keira (Maggie Lawson) is a gritty ex-druggie with a ton of emotional issues. They share their trashy digs with Louis' lady Janet (a fine Amanda Detmer). Their mark, Paul, is a doctor with some pocketbook problems, a Russian wife who wants a baby and an outsized dream of life unfettered. The bulk of the play shifts between the two homes (designer Kurt Boetcher's dual-view mock-up is well done) with much time and dialogue spent on what is negligible, instead of the ugly fraud that lies at the heart of the play or the psychological portraits of those involved, neither of which are artfully or convincingly constructed. The only surprise comes at the end, but it doesn't redeem the sputtering path toward it. That's not to fault the actors, who perform well under James Roday's direction. El Centro Theatre, 804 N. El Centro Ave., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sun., 8 p.m., through Jan. 29. reddogsquadron.com. (Lovell Estell III)

THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE For some, a computer is a word-processing machine and a gateway to the Internet. As long as they are able to type documents, send e-mails and surf the Web, they feel they're making full use of this machine. Others, however, use the very same machine to its full technological capacity: making complex calculations, designing eye-catching graphics or composing the next great symphony. In interpreting the work of an accomplished playwright like Martin McDonagh, directors and actors have the same options: Tell the story straightforwardly and competently, or delve deeply into the words and the spaces between them to bring out the richness of their meaning. Like the vast majority of us, director Patrick Williams chooses the former option in staging McDonagh's satire on Irish terrorism. In it, a cat belonging to Padraic (Patrick Rieger), a soldier in the Irish National Liberation Army, is found dead by Davey (Devon Armstrong) and brought to Padraic's father, Donny (John Gilbert), who's supposed to be taking care of it. When Padraic hears that his favorite feline isn't fit, he returns to Inishmore and runs into not only Mairead (Jannese Davidson), Davey's gun-toting sister who's keen to join both Padraic and the cause, but also a crew of INLA members angling to take over his turf. Violence and mayhem ensue, and liters of blood are shed, all of which is a lot funnier than you'd expect. Unfortunately, neither the acting nor directing brings the laughter to full throat. The characters are played too earnestly instead of hyperbolically, a move that injects subtlety into a piece that revels in extremes and caricature. Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m., through Feb. 12. (562) 494-1014, lbplayhouse.org. (Mayank Keshaviah)

Fatigue

Location Info

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Asylum Lab

1078 Lillian Way
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Category: Performing Arts Venues

Region: Hollywood

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Flight Theater at The Complex

6476 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Category: Theaters

Region: Hollywood

Hudson Theatres

6539 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Category: Theaters

Region: Hollywood

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Alexandria Hotel

501 S. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90013

Category: Hotels/Resorts

Region: Downtown

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El Centro Theatre

804 N. El Centro Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Category: Theaters

Region: Hollywood

Long Beach Playhouse

5021 E. Anaheim St.
Long Beach, CA 90804

Category: Theaters

Region: Out of Town

Photos

Dorie Theater at the Complex

6476 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Category: Theaters

Region: Hollywood

Underground Theatre

1312-1314 N. Wilton Place
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Category: Theaters

Region: Hollywood

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• DADDY Dan
• Zombie Joe
• Neal Weaver
• Theatrical Plays
• Theater

LOVE, SEX AND THE IRS The IRS thinks Jon and Leslie are married. Problem is, Jon (Nathanial Dobies) has lied on his returns and his male roommate, a ticked-off Leslie (Bret Colombo), must wear a dress and wig to fool the tax man (George Cummings) who wants to meet the "missus." Furthermore, the emergency drag wardrobe comes from Jon's fiancée, Kate (Tamara Lynn Davis), who's already been sneaking Leslie into her panties. Gay marriage is so foreign to William Van Zandt and Jane Millmore's 1979 sex farce that when Jon's estranged mom (Sally Richter) barges into the charade, she weeps that Jon and Leslie have inspired God to destroy Manhattan — for being a straight couple living in sin. (The one woman who realizes there's a man under those tights, the very funny Carole Catanzaro as Leslie's girlfriend, thinks being gay is cause to be committed to a mental hospital.) Director Christopher Chase tries to place us squarely in the '70s, littering the set with fondue pots, cans of Tab and posters of Farrah Fawcett. Even so, the comedy's last source of tension, a landlord (Barry Agin) snooping for co-ed cohabitation, feels like a confounding homage to Three's Company. At least taxes are more certain than social mores. But before bringing life to the near alien past, Chase's priority is to macho-up Dobies and Colombo, both too fluttery to play a violent schemer and a ladies' man thrust into playing the oddest of odd couples. Dorie Theater at the Complex, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sun., 8 p.m., through Jan. 30. (661) 547-1173. (Amy Nicholson)

NEW EYES Yafit Josephson gives an accomplished performance in her solo show about a Jewish actress facing down Hollywood's cultural stereotypes. It's marred only by a poorly designed slide show. Josephson slips easily into various personae, combining characters with caricatures to good comedic effect. The opening has her switching from a formidable military officer to her nervous young self on her first day of compulsory military training in the Israeli army. Highlights include a hilarious mime sequence where she uncomprehendingly attempts yoga and another scene where she gives a goofy impression of a macho guy in an Israeli nightclub. Josephson's tall, slender build, piercing eyes and chiseled face lend her a commanding presence, but it's her prominent proboscis that relegates her to the usual gamut of villainous roles, from terrorist to evil witch — "And no, they didn't have to use a fake nose," she jokes. Her adult journey takes her from the New World back to Israel, where she touches base with her culture, returning to Hollywood with newfound strength of character. Beneath the comedy lies a serious undercurrent stemming from the ongoing war in the Middle East: Land equals identity. Whitefire Theater, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; Thurs. & Sat., 8 pm., Sun., 3 p.m., through Feb. 13. whitefiretheatre.com/New_Eyes.html. (Pauline Adamek)