OH, MOMMA AND OBAMA Penned by Derek Reid, Nicholas Zill and Kenneth McLeod, this send-up of Barack Obama's female-infested household is fraught with familiar grievances and worn-out jokes, stumbling blocks that prevent the material from growing a serious pair of satirical legs. Barack Obama's (Derek Jeremiah Reid) mother-in-law, Marian Robinson (Lakendra Tookes), meddles in matters of state and thinks she knows best when it comes to her granddaughters, Malia (Alexis Matthews) and Sasha (Nay Nay Kirby). Her daughter, Michelle (Constance Reese), tries and fails to keep the peace between hubby and mom. When Marian gets busted snooping through classified documents, the commander in chief decides enough is enough and sends her to Guantanamo Bay. Meanwhile, Malia and Sasha are up to no good. Reid's Barack Obama parody is the best thing about the production — he's spot-on vocally and physically. Tookes comes out of the gate with an over-the-top shrillness that never ceases and quickly grows tiresome. A standout of the supporting cast is Natascha Corrigan as Sarah Palin, but the material's trite ring (Sarah Palin is stupid! Sarah Palin talks funny! Sarah Palin is not to be taken seriously!) hinders her. Bill O'Reilly (Robb Wolford), Bill Clinton (Phillip Wilburn) and George W. Bush (Wolford) all appear, but nothing new or striking is revealed about any of them. Piped in music by Howard Bennett and the Rock 'n' Ridicule Band feels canned and flat; Laura Pinho's choreography is clumsy. A TV intermittently broadcasts the real-life people being impersonated onstage, a puzzling device that smacks of mistrust of the audience. Fremont Centre Theatre, 1000 Fremont Ave., South Pasadena; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru May 1. (866) 811-4111. (Amy Lyons)
GO 'TIL DEATH DO US PART: LATE NITE CATECHISM 3 First there was The Flying Nun, then Nunsense (and its sequels), then Sister Act (and its sequels), and now the latest in the series of Late Nite Catechism shows from the gently hilarious Maripat Donovan. Bottom line: Nuns are funny. In this iteration of the long-running Chicago-based original, the focus is on two sacraments: Marriage and the Blessing of the Sick. That is, if you can call a floodlight "focused." While Donovan incorporates pre-written material, weaving it seamlessly into her ad-libbing, the largest laughs are generated from her interactions with the audience. From berating latecomers (like a good Catholic school teacher), to interviewing married couples about their personal stories, to a "Catholic Q&A" session, and finally inviting two couples on stage to play the "Compatibility Game," Donovan is nimble, quick-witted and incredibly engaging. With the house lights on during the performance, she lets few escape, but even those who became the inadvertent targets of her jokes can't stop smiling. Incorporating pop-cultural references in lines like, "You can learn a lot about world religions from South Park" and "There's a famous philosopher I follow ... Beyoncé," Donovan ensures the material stays current. Co-writer and director Marc Silvia keeps Donovan puttering about the stage in a purposeful way, and the set pieces used — especially the tinsel-festooned backdrop for the "Compatibility Game" — are authentically detailed. The snippets from Herb Alpert's "Spanish Flea" played during the game are a nice finishing touch to a piece that will bless your evening with laughter, whether you're Catholic or not. Carrie Hamilton Theatre at the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena; Thurs.-Sat., 7:30 p.m., Sun., 5 p.m., thru April 3. (626) 356-7529, PasadenaPlayhouse.org. A Donovan Entertainment production. (Mayank Keshaviah)
GO THE YOUNG MAN FROM ATLANTA Hollywood has trained us well: Midway through Horton Foote's Pulitzer Prize–winning play, your mind is racing ahead, tugging at a loose thread in the plotline, guessing what twist lies underneath. But Foote's storytelling style is like a lazy Southern Sunday afternoon spent on the front porch: He lays the play's cards on the table right from the start, then sits back and lets its stories draw you in like the mesmerizing back-and-forth of a rocking chair. Will Kidder (Dick DeCoit) and his wife, Lily Dale (Eileen Barnett), have just settled into a grand new house in Houston, mostly in an effort to avoid painful reminders of their only son, who recently drowned. The title character, their son's roommate who's never seen in the play, is a boogeyman. Though a comfort to Lily Dale, Will squeezes his eyes tight against his existence, hoping he'll just go away. The play's themes are proposed so subtly — aging ("Thirty-eight years ... where'd they go?" Will asks), race relations (one of Lily Dale's old maids, played by Cyndi Martino, smiles warmly, "You haven't changed a bit! And look at me, wore out from cookin' in others' kitchens"), religion, homosexuality, generational conflict, gender roles — that you only feel their full impact upon later reflection. Director August Viverito wisely allows the play's inaction to stand, but his finest decision was casting DeCoit to lead the cast. In less capable hands, Foote's chunks of text easily could bore an audience; but as DeCoit navigates them, verve giving way to slumped shoulders, the crumbling descent of Will's life is just as riveting as it is heartbreaking. The Production Company at the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 3 p.m., thru April 22 (no perf. March 13). (800) 838-3006. (Rebecca Haithcoat)
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