THE BERLIN DIG Playwright John Stuercke's attempted exploration of ideas and ideology about fascism and world politics results in a stupefying mash: The play takes place in present-day Berlin, where Dieter (Roy Allen), after the funeral services for his mother, plays host to old friends Peter (Irwin Moskowitz) and Rolf (Markus Obermeier). It isn't long before the conversation turns to family ties, to times past and the Nazi era, sparking a drawn-out, vapid exposition about history, complicity and German guilt. It's here that Stuercke's pen goes a-wandering, and doesn't seem to know where to settle, as the discussion turns to contemporary politics, racism, immigration in Germany and America, oil, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the auto industry, Bush and Cheney, the Kennedy assassination, slavery, communism, even the Armenian Genocide, all of which transpires in the span of two benevolently short acts. In Act 2, Stuercke, who also directs, mixes in a little bit of suspense, when it's revealed that Dieter's father was really a Nazi, and a relative arrives from America. By this time, it doesn't matter. Completing the misfire are German accents better suited to Hogan's Heroes and terrible performances that bury whatever potential the play may have had. El Centro Theatre, 800 N. El Centro Ave., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m., through March 6. (800) 838-3006. (Lovell Estell III)
PHOTO BY ED KRIEGER
Gigi
PHOTO BY MICHAEL LAMONT
Wrinkles
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ETHEL MERMAN'S BROADWAY Most people of a certain age recall Broadway musical legend Ethel Merman, described by a Time columnist in a 1940 cover story as "a dynamic baggage with syncopation in every breath ... and a voice with the hard, clarion forthrightness of a jazz trumpet." In this solo show, performer Rita McKenzie re-creates Merman, taking fans and Broadway musical aficionados on a nostalgic sojourn. Directed by Christopher Powich and backed by a seven-piece band directed and conducted by David Snyder, McKenzie delivers renditions of celebrated songs, many by Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, interspersed with a biographical account of Merman's life, from her early career efforts, while a young secretary from Queens, up through her last successful musical, Hello Dolly. McKenzie comfortably wraps herself in Merman's brassy broad persona for what aims to be a chatty series of revelations to the audience. But while the external mannerisms ring true — the nasal twang in her voice, the unabashed me-ism of her attitude — the performance I saw lacked a fresh edge. (Not surprising, since McKenzie began impersonating Merman as early as 1989.) That said, most audience members seemed to be enjoying themselves. Eric Winterling's glitzy costumes contribute the requisite glamour. El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., N. Hlywd.; Wed.-Fri., 8 p.m., Sat., 3 & 8 p.m., Sun., 3 p.m., through Feb. 27. (818) 508-4200. (Deborah Klugman)
GO GIGI Nearly as old as the transition of a script from Broadway to Hollywood is the reverse, a process of adaptation that has created both stage gems like Mary Poppins and stage horrors (literally) like Carrie: The Musical. But with talents like Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) behind it, this staging of the film classic is much more like the former than the latter. The story takes place in 1901 Paris and explores the exploits of wealthy bon vivant Gaston (Matt Cavenaugh), who takes after his uncle Honore (William Atherton), but becomes bored easily. His main diversion is visiting his uncle's lady friend, Mamita (Millicent Martin), and playing cards with her bubbly granddaughter, Gigi (Lisa O'Hare). Gigi is being groomed to be a high-class courtesan by her Aunt Alicia (Susan Denaker), but things get complicated when Gaston falls for her. The highlight of the show is Lerner's book and lyrics, with clever turns of phrase that are, at times, like Noel Coward set to music. Director David Lee masterfully maintains the mischief of the characters, extracting solid performances from a talented cast, and Jared A. Sayeg's lighting paints Paris in princely purple hues. O'Hare's dew-fresh charm in her perky rendition of the title role is a pleasure to watch, as are her scenes with Denaker, whose perfectly pitched Alicia is like Lady Bracknell in a looser corset. Atherton and Martin show great chemistry on the classic "I Remember It Well." Freud Playhouse at UCLA, Macgowan Hall, 405 Hilgard Ave., Wstwd.; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m., Sat., 2 & 8 p.m., Sun., 2 & 7 p.m., through Feb. 27. (310) 825-2101, reprise.org. A Reprise Theatre Company Production. (Mayank Keshaviah)
GO THE HYACINTH MACAW An unabridged dictionary can be a dangerous thing, particularly when it's wielded with the playfully pleonastic dexterity of a stage poet like Mac Wellman. Like a deranged Dr. Seuss for adults, Wellman marries a love of wordplay with a mischievously subversive wit that entertains even as it teases out the unspeakable fears festering at the fringes of American complacency. In director Jim Martin's handsomely mounted production of Wellman's 1994 fractured fairy tale, the playwright zeros in on our gullible faith in the empty, "pneumatic" bromides and hackneyed romantic tropes that form the fragile mythologies from which we make sense of a larger, unknowable reality. In the case of the Moredent family of Bug River, all of their assumptions about their very identities are upended with the arrival of Mister William Hard (Jerry Prell), "a doctor of divinity, equidistance and gradualist" from "the land of evening," who announces that they are all orphans. It seems the father, Ray (Craig Anton) is an "inauthentic duplicate" of Hard and the two must trade places to redress the error. Blithely accepting the news, Ray packs his bag and departs, freeing wife Dora (Lysa Fox) to run off with an itinerant vagabond (Simon Brooke), while daughter Susannah (Anna Steers) remains behind to help Hard bury the eerily glowing remains of the dying moon. While Martin's staging underscores the text's whimsical non-sense at the expense of its more mordant phenomenological musings, Cristina Bejarano's imaginative, angular set and Nick Davidson's hauntingly evocative lights eloquently support Wellman's off-kilter cosmos. Royal Theater aboard the Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Hwy., Long Beach; Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m., through March 12. (562) 985-5526, calrep.org. A California Repertory production. (Bill Raden)
