LA Daily

Carla Mendez Found Guilty in Witchcraft Murder Trial

2008-08-29 15:52:49

A downtown Los Angeles jury found 22-year-old Carla Mendez guilty of second-degree murder yesterday. Mendez was accused of killing a local snow-cone vendor who allegedly put an evil spell on her female lover Maria Gomez. Gomez was found guilty of first-degree murder in August of 2007.

Los Angeles Police Department Northeast Detectives found 43-year-old Norberto Castro’s battered body next to a Jetta on Allesandro Street in Silver Lake on July 13, 2005. Castro, a happy go lucky snow-cone vendor who pushed a cart around his Melrose Avenue neighborhood, was rushed to the hospital but died of his injuries soon afterwards.

]]> According to the prosecution’s key witness, Sogui Godinez, Gomez concocted a sinister plan to kill the Mexican immigrant after consulting a bruja — a Mexican witch doctor operating out of a botanica within the city's sprawling immigrant community. Gomez decided Castro had cast a spell on her as punishment for spurning his advances. Swept up in her eerie beliefs, Gomez decided her only escape was to murder Castro.

Gomez ultimately tricked Castro into drinking paint thinner and nail-polish remover, then joined Mendez in bashing his head in with rocks.

The entire tragedy, according to court papers, was driven by Gomez' belief in love spells and witchcraft, practiced underground in many poor Latino neighborhoods.

On that summer night, Castro joined Gomez, Mendez and a friend in a late-night trip to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, where, according to Godinez, Castro accepted a beer from Gomez and guzzled it — not realizing Gomez had spiked it with nail-polish remover and paint thinner.

Castro was barely conscious when they shoved him into the car and drove back into Los Angeles. As they drove, Gomez began striking Castro with a beer bottle and shouting, “You disgust me…You are ugly.”

Cops said that Mendez admitted to striking Castro over the head with a beer bottle after he lunged towards Gomez’ throat. The beating began after Castro insulted the women, and performed witchcraft on Gomez, according to Mendez.

“[Castro] was stupid for not defending himself,” Mendez said to the cops during an interview.

They eventually parked Gomez’ Jetta on Allesandro Way. According to Godinez, Gomez and Mendez tried to back the car over Castro — but the car wouldn't start. Instead, they bashed in his skull with two rocks that weighed over 16 pounds, and fled.

Mendez told cops that she didn’t know why Castro died. LAPD detective Luis Rivera suggested that it was because of the beating he endured at her hands. “She was laughing and said, ‘I don’t want to talk about those stories.’”

Rivera, who earlier this week, said Mendez later laughed, and said: “I should have used gloves…next time.”

Last week, Mendez’ attorney Norman Kallen said Mendez and Gomez came from “humble beginnings” and arrived in Los Angeles without “the help of legal entry.”

Gomez and Mendez had a history of “expecting a curse on them,” he said.

“My client is an individual who subscribes to the possibility [that] if a hex is placed on them those individuals are subject to be victimized,” he said, and because of Mendez’ love for Gomez, “she felt Gomez was being threatened by this guy.”

With fingerprint evidence placing Gomez inside the bloodied Jetta, she was arrested during a six-hour stakeout on a South L.A. street in September of 2005. Mendez eluded the law for five more months, and was picked up by the LAPD's fugitive task force on February 23, 2006, visiting a friend in South L.A.

Queer Town: Obama's Gay Moment

2008-08-29 15:40:47

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama undoubtedly thrilled, and probably somewhat shocked, gays and lesbians last night when he spoke this line during his nomination speech in Denver:

“I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination,” he told a nationally televised audience.

The line shouldn't have been surprising.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in Denver, Colorado.
(photo courtesy of the DNC)

]]> Obama has regularly mentioned gays and lesbians in his stump speech on the campaign trial, regardless of who stood before him or what town he was visiting. And when I attended an Obama fund raiser back in January in the Pacific Palisades, I asked the senator, as a private citizen, to do more work on reaching out to the gay community. Obama didn't squirm away. Instead, he stopped shaking hands with all of the famous people who were nearby, listened to me, and said, "You're right. I can do better." Seven months later, he was possibly the first presidential candidate to dedicate an entire paragraph to the rights of gays and lesbians in his nomination speech.

Now the gay press, like the Advocate and others, are caught up on Obama's gay marriage stance: the presidential candidate prefers civil unions and recently said marriage should be between one man and one woman. The Advocate, where I sometimes freelance, then writes that Obama is "clearly walking a fine line on LGBT issues." In fact, it's one issue, and the Democrat has come out against Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that would ban same sex marriage.

Obama has also made it clear throughout his long campaign that he would repeal the entire Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a federal law that actually undercuts any state gay marriage or civil union laws. And the presidential candidate said he would end the ban on gays serving in the military.

On the overall issues of gay equality, the positions are there and have been in place for some time. Maybe the Obama campaign needs to step up and let gay folks know exactly what he's all about. Thursday night was a good starting point, and maybe it's up to the gays to actually listen...or even learn about a man who's running against a Republican opponent who's now trying to get votes off the backs of gays by supporting Prop. 8, among other un-gay-friendly positions. An understanding can only come about if both sides participate.

Check out some gay Republican thoughts on Obama's speech at GayPatriot.net.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.

Anand Jon Rape Trial Nears

2008-08-29 15:14:54

A semen-stained comforter, a tampon and a camera. These were some of the items listed on a Beverly Hills P.D. search warrant when officers raided fashion designer Anand Jon's pad in March, 2007. Later that year Jon was charged with a list of offenses more often associated with spring break at Lake Havasu than evenings on staid North Palm Drive: forcible rape, lewd acts upon a child, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, sexual battery by restraint and attempted forcible oral copulation.

]]> Jon originally faced 59 such charges, tied to 20 women who came forward to claim that between 2000 and 2007 he’d used his Web site to lure them from across the country to Los Angeles, with the promise of introducing them to the fashion industry. This week, however, the District Attorney’s office had 30 of the counts stricken from the original indictment, while holding out the possibility of refiling any of them at a later date.

The Indian-born Jon made a name for himself by designing clothes for such celebrities as Paris Hilton and Mary J. Blige, and also enjoys a reputation as a hard-partier. This morning Jon’s attorneys, Leonard Levine and Donald Marks, presented motions to bar speculative witness testimony regarding possible drug-usage at Jon’s home, and to have the two BHPD warrants suppressed. The second request was made on the grounds that one cop’s labeling of Jon as a “sexual predator” on the initial warrant had allowed two police visits to Jon’s condo to become scavenger hunts in which officers took away the designer’s computers. Judge David S. Wesley rejected the motions, claiming that even without Jon’s predator tag, an alleged victim’s description of the comforter, tampon and other items permitted a comprehensive search of Jon’s home.

Jon, 34, remains in custody in county jail and faces a potential life sentence if convicted on all charges. He appeared in court wearing a dark chalk-striped suit, his hair pulled into a short ponytail. More pretrial motions will be filed next week. Jury selection is expected to be completed by September 9, with opening statements scheduled three days later, followed by the first prosecution witness’ testimony September 15.

0 for 4: Pellicano and Christensen Strike Out

2008-08-29 13:06:18

Former “private eye to the stars” Anthony Pellicano and high-powered entertainment/corporate lawyer Terry Christensen were found guilty by a jury this morning of all four counts of the conspiracy and wiretapping that the men faced. For Pellicano this must seem now routine, having been convicted last May of 76 counts of racketeering and wiretapping involving a range of victims and cases. For first-time felon Christensen, though, it means the loss of his right to practice law in California, regardless of how much of his sentence’s potential 10 years in prison he actually serves.

]]> Unlike the huge ensemble of witnesses and suspects who appeared in Pellicano’s first trial, this two-hander was simplicity itself. The government alleged that Christensen, acting on behalf of his billionaire client Kirk Kerkorian, hired Pellicano to wiretap the privileged lawyer-client phone calls between Kerkorian’s ex-wife, Lisa Bonder, and her attorneys. In 2002 Kerkorian and Bonder were locked in a bitter child-support battle. At the heart of the government’s case, presented by U.S. Attorneys Daniel Saunders and Kevin Lally, were 34 phone conversations between Pellicano and Christensen that Pellicano had secretly recorded. Christensen’s defense, led by his law partner Patty Glaser and by attorney Terree Bowers, argued that nowhere on the recordings, played in court, do the two men use the word “wiretap” or “eavesdrop,” and that the government produced no physical evidence of such taps.

Nevertheless, after hearing these recordings, in which the two discussed intimate details of Bonder’s life and legal strategies, jurors concluded that such information could only have come from illegal wiretaps. Pellicano’s doom seemed sealed from the start, since he had, at the very least, clearly recorded his calls with Christensen. Still, there seemed some possibility that Christensen might beat the actual wiretapping charge, if not the conspiracy charge. In the end, though, both men were found equally guilty and now face sentencing by Judge Dale Fischer in November.

Brewer's Back-to-School Speech

2008-08-29 09:22:42

According to the Daily News, LA Unified Superintendent David Brewer gave one of his rousing speeches at the Los Angeles Convention Center yesterday, as he welcomed administrators back to school. The event didn't get too much press coverage, unfortunately, and maybe that's why the former Navy admiral gets away with saying certain stuff.

]]> Brewer said a number of things that need further looking into, but among the standout comments was the superintendent's talk about the widening achievement gap between African American and Latino students and white and Asian American students.

"Let me tell you what this is about," Brewer said, according to the Daily News. "We have to hold ourselves accountable."

He added, "This is the future of America. If we don't solve this, we will be a second-rate nation by 2020."

An LA Unified press release about the event gives another quote about the same topic.

"We have got to figure out a way to get our boys to read and be literate," said Brewer.

It was slightly bizarre stuff when you consider high performing charter schools such as Green Dot and the Inner City Education Foundation. These schools are based in African American communities, they're achieving high test schools, and they're sending students to college. The superintendent, in other words, does need to figure out anything--he's got the answers right in his own backyard.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.

Election '08: A Man, Not A Movement

2008-08-29 08:40:53

By now you've seen Obama's speech and heard it sliced and diced ad nauseum. Or, maybe not. The news cycle seems to have shrunk from an already truncated 24-hours to about twelve as the morning talk shows focus on McCain's bizarre choice of Sarah Palin for running mate. Good judgment, John. It does raise an interesting question, though -- how the hell is Joe Biden supposed to fight such a lesser foe without looking like a bully?

Anyway, back to Obama's big night. I was privileged to be there. And I don't say privileged because I drank the cool aid of the cult of Obama. I say privileged because it was a truly significant moment and one I almost lost perspective on as the week wore on and all the chatter and over-analysis and phony instigation and extreme point missing (how do some of these people stay working) by the pundits combined with the political gamesmanship between the parties and within the Dems themselves threatened to smash the big picture into a million little pieces.

So, by the end of the week, exhausted from running through the streets for days and being fried in the high altitude, and done in by the ability of all of us to sometimes -- to paraphrase Obama -- make big things small, I was ready to raise the white flag. Not to mention I hate big crowds and football stadiums (especially if football is being played) and giant rock-show spectacles.

And much has has been made of the supposed rock-star trapping of the setting at outdoor Invesco Stadium and the supposed revivalist fervor/meets rock star aesthetic of Obama's campaign (I don't think Shepard Fairey's Maoist Obama iconography is helping) and I admit I almost fell for the cynical trap. Movements unsettle me. I'm not a joiner. Naked displays of hope and faith repel me. I'm a bleeding heart in a cynic's shell.

But all that went away when Obama took the stage before those 80,000 hopeful folks and I was immediately glad to be there. Sure, the crowd went crazy, and I had that sinking feeling I was going be put through an hour-long love in. But Obama himself was having none of it. After accepting a thunderous greeting, he immediately set about making it all right to be there.

He made it all right because beyond the politics and presentation of his speech, which he mastered deftly despite the huge scale to which they'd been raised, and beyond the symbolism of the moment, which was as historically momentous as can be, the thing Obama did best was bring it all back down to a human level. No one was overcome with the spirit. No one started speaking in tongues. Nobody rushed the stage to touch the messiah. Bill may "love it" and can even whip up a little hysteria, but Obama wasn't having it. As he said in so many words last night, shit's too serious for that nonsense.

Despite how huge the setting and how fevered the pitch, the first thing Obama did right last night was not walk on water. He didn't even try. Instead, he showed himself to be like you and me, a man. Just a man. A solid, smart, charismatic, compassionate man from modest origins who -- like I and I'd imagine you, too -- has had enough of this crap.

Neither godhead or even a figurehead, Obama was more like a guy you'd value as a friend or a colleague or teammate, who might inspire you to do better on all counts. Not to mention in a week that seemed to grow evermore infantile in its analytical babble and hype as it wore on, he also showed himself on that stage to be one of the few adults around. Worthy of trust. Even hope. And certainly leadership.

As far as the history of the moment, what's truly amazing about it (and boy did Chris Matthews miss this in his post-speech interview) and what makes it even more historic, is that the fact that Obama is African American seems beside the point. I mean it's fantastic and wonderful and overdue and everything else, but yet that's not the change that this election is about. It's weirdly becoming a footnote, a glorious one, but a footnote nonetheless. There are way bigger fish to fry -- and I suppose that in itself is a strange barometer of some kind of progress -- and the guy to fry them just happens to be black (And, really, really white, too. Did you see those shots of his maternal family? Yikes.)

Obama's great gift, and it may be the one that brings this thing home for him, is that while everything around him gets bigger and bigger, he stays himself.

Stage Raw: Who Needs Plays?

2008-08-29 07:00:00

Who Needs Plays?

On Wednesday's posting on this blog, the mention that Pasadena Playhouse's production of Vanities, the Musical (opening tonight to the press) was Broadway bound came with the publicist's announcement that the New York performances would start February 2 “at a Shubert Theater to be announced.”

Just found the following post by Abigail Katz on The Playgoer http://playgoer.blogspot.com from New York, which casts some doubt on the certainty of many incoming shows landing a venue on the Great White Way.

“It appears the planets are out of alignment in the theatre universe. Each day seems to bring another story of a cancelled show, an actor replacement, a change of venue, and gloomy days ahead. At the same time there are several Broadway shows setting preview dates "at a theatre to be announced." On the Great White Way alone, we have dueling Mamets, the producers' battle for Hair, no available theatres, and no money.”

Of course nothing is certain in the theater, or in most other endeavors, but as Katz points out, “With this kind of drama, who needs plays?”

Lodestone Fundraiser

Lodestone Theatre Ensemble is throwing a poker and karaoke party-fundraiser on September 7 at Oiwake Restaurant, 122 Japanese Village Plaza in Little Tokyo. Doors open at 6 p.m., poker starts at 7 p.m., buffet closes at 9 p.m. $12 admission at the door includes a dinner buffet, entertainment and karaoke; A $50 deduction from your wallet gets you admission, the dinner buffet and a poker buy-in – with a $5 discount of payment is received by September 5. (To save the 5-spot, make checks out to Lodestone Theatre Ensemble and mail to: Lodestone Poker Fundraiser, PO Box 1072, Studio City, CA 91614

Incoming . . .

Check here on Monday afternoon for this coming weekend's New Theater Reviews, which will include reviews of the Troubadour Theater Company's As U2 Like It at the Falcon, Bouncers at the Lost Studio, Boyle Heights at Casa 0101, Educating Rita at the Colony Theatre, Fucking Hollywood at Ark Theatre Company, Hands-on Therapy at the Secret Rose Theatre, Long Stay Cut Short (two Tennessee Williams one-acts) at Actors Art Theatre, Spider Bites at Theatre of NOTE, and Vanities, the Musical at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Kristolyn Lloyd and Ledisi in the Reprise Theatre Company production of Once On This Island, which opens on Tuesday at UCLA's Ralph Freud Playhouse, through September 14. Photo by Johnganun.com

For this weekend's comprehensive theater listings, press the READ ON tab directly below.

]]> COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGS

For August 29 – September 4, 2008

Our critics are Paul Birchall, Lovell Estell III, Martin Hernandez, Mayank Keshaviah, Deobrah Klugman, Steven Leigh Morris, Amy Nicholson, Tom Provenzano, Bill Raden, Sandra Ross and Neal Weaver. These listings were compiled by Derek Thomas.

OPENING THIS WEEK: LARGER THEATERS

AGAMEMNON Aeschylus' tale of the return of Mycenae king. GETTY VILLA, 17985 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu; opens Sept. 4; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 27. (310) 440-7300, www.getty.edu.

FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNETerrence McNally's romantic comedy. International City Theatre, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach; opens Aug. 29; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Sept. 21. (562) 436-4610, www.ictlongbeach.org.

MEMPHIS Book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro, music and additional lyrics by David Bryan. La Jolla Playhouse, 2910 La Jolla Village Dr., La Jolla; opens Sept. 3; Tues.-Wed., 7:30 p.m.; Thurs.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; thru Sept. 28. (858) 550-1010.

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND Musical romance, book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty. UCLA Freud Playhouse, Macgowan Hall, Westwood; opens Sept. 3; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; thru Sept. 14. (310) 825-2101.

VANITIES Jack Heifner's comedy about three best girlfriends, music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum. Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena; opens Aug. 29; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 30, 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; Sat., 4 & 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 28. (626) 356-PLAY, www.pasadenaplayhouse.org.

OPENING THIS WEEK: SMALLER THEATERS

HANDS-ON THERAPY "Melancholic-comedy" by Toby Champion. Secret Rose Theater, 11246 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood; opens Aug. 29; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Sept. 21. www.handsontherapy.tix.com.

ROSE'S DILEMMA Neil Simon's story a writer's-blocked novelist. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre; opens Aug. 29; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m.; thru Sept. 27. (626) 256-3809.

SPIDER BITES By Jacqueline Wright. Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd., L.A.; opens Aug. 29; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Oct. 4. (323) 856-8611, www.theatreofnote.com.

28 PLAYS LATER Short-attention-span comedies. KOOS ART CENTER, 530 E. Broadway, Long Beach; opens Aug. 31; Sun., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 21, (Added perf Sept. 14, 4 p.m.). www.alivetheatre.org.
Theater Special Events

VENICE CABARET THEATRE1920s French-style cabaret. Blankenship Studio, 132 Brooks Ave., Venice; Sat., Aug. 30, 8 p.m.. (866) 922-5538, www.myspace.com/venicecabarettheatre.

CONTINUING PERFORMANCES: LARGER THEATERS

AS U2 LIKE IT The Bard's “As You Like It” set to the music of U2. Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Dr., Burbank; Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m.; thru Sept. 14. (818) 955-8101.

GO AS YOU LIKE IT Directors Ellen Geer and Melora Marshall set this evergreen Shakespearean comedy in the years after the American Civil War, but, fortunately, they apply the concept with a light, tactful hand. Ameena Maria Khawajas musical direction, Mike Peeblers exciting fight choreography and Shon LeBlancs handsome costumes add to the fun. (NW). Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Sept. 28, (No perf Sept. 14.). (310) 455-3723, www.theatricum.com.

BABY Parenting musical, book by Sybille Pearson, lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr., music by David Shire. West Valley Playhouse, 7242 Owensmouth Ave., Canoga Park; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m.; thru Sept. 7. (818) 884-1907.

BEETHOVEN, AS I KNEW HIM: THE MUSIC OF LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN$ Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood; Tues.-Thurs., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., 4 & 8:30 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; Tues.-Thurs., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 28. (310) 208-5454, www.geffenplayhouse.com.

EDUCATING RITA Teacher-student story, by Willy Russell. Colony Theatre, 555 N. Third St., Burbank; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; thru Sept. 21, (Added perfs Aug. 30 & Sept. 6, 3 p.m.; Sept. 11 & 18, 8 p.m.). (818) 558-7000, www.colonytheatre.org.

KING O'LEARY The Actors' Gang sets King Learduring the Gold Rush. Media Park, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City; Sat.-Sun., 11 a.m.; thru Aug. 31. (310) 838-4264.

GO L'EFFLEUR DES SENS Choreographer-director Cati Jean has MC Gregg guide us through this French-style cabaret, which consists of nine fleshy, erotic dances performed by the host and a bevy of seven beauties with jaw-dropping precision. Gregg's improvised humor borders on the puerile, but the dancers' dexterity and skill are beyond reproach. (SLM). King King, 6555 Hollywood Blvd., L.A.; Every other Thursday, 9 p.m.; thru Sept. 18. (323) 960-9234, www.kingkinghollywood.com.

LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT We dont seem to be able to avoid unpleasant topics, sighs Edmund Tyrone (Aaron Hendry) to his father, James (William Dennis Hunt), in Act 4 of Eugene ONeills genre-creating family melodrama. The claustrophobic parlor drama is an odd fit for the Theatricum Botanicums forested stage, as the ensemble, when not shouting, are perilously close to being drowned out by crickets. (AN). Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga; Sat., 8 p.m.; Fri., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 26. (310) 455-3723, www.theatricum.com.

GO THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES In their cotton-candy chiffon dresses, songbirds Missy, Suzy, Betty Jean and Cindy Lou (Kim Huber, Bets Malone, Julie Dixon Jackson and Kirsten Chandler) are pleased as punch to entertain their senior-class prom. As it's 1958, tonight's track list is pure bubblegum pop, soured up by cat fights over stolen songs and stolen boyfriends. Playwright-director Roger Bean, however, is only half-successful in manufacturing drama and character development from the story's personality clashes and a looming prom-queen vote. Under playwright-director Roger Bean's hand, the ladies are fine comedians and even finer singers, and the show gets a punch of energy in Act 2. (AN). Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach; Tues.-Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Aug. 31. (949) 497-2787.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM Shakespeare's romantic comedy. Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga; Mon., Sept. 1, 6 p.m.. (310) 455-3723, www.theatricum.com.

GO RESPECT: THE GIRL EM-POWERED MUSICALMusical history of the female experience throughout the 20th century, by Dorothy Marcic. El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; Sun., 3 p.m.; Thurs.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 3 & 8 p.m.; thru Aug. 31. (818) 508-0281, www.elportaltheatre.com.

ROMEO & JULIET, TOGETHER AND ALIVE AT LAST Sandra Fenichel Asher's story of a school play. Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Sept. 7. (562) 494-1014.

THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 18th-century comedy of manners. Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga; Sun., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., 4 p.m.; thru Sept. 27. (310) 455-3723, www.theatricum.com.

GO WICKED In this musical riff on the witches of Oz (by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Hollzman), Joe Mantello directs a marvelous spectacle that looks like a diversion but is actually quite the opposite. Eden Espinoza as the green-skinned, bespectacled girl-witch Elphaba has a contagiously smart appeal. After recognizing that Elphaba's not going to power-play along with the Wizard's (John Rubinstein) Stalinist shenanigans, Mrs. Morrible (the delightful Carol Kane), starts a witch hunt for the girl, and the whole thing starts to resemble some of the tawdrier chapters in American history. (SLM). Pantages Theater, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., L.A.; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 1 & 6:30 p.m.; thru Jan. 11. (213) 365-3500.

CONTINUING PERFORMANCES: HOLLYWOOD, WEST HOLLYWOOD, DOWNTOWN

GO THE ACCOMPLICES Bernard Weinraub's documentary drama reminds us of WWII's less benevolent aspects. He tells the story of Peter Bergson, born Hillel Kook (Steven Schub), who devoted his life to attempting to rescue Jews from Nazi-occupied Europe. Political complexities inevitably overshadow Bergson's personal life, but they are fascinating in their own right. Deborah LaVine skillfully melds a fine cast into a gripping production. (NW). Fountain Theater, 5060 Fountain Ave., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Sept. 14. (323) 663-1525, www.fountaintheatre.com.

GO ASSASSINS When composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim and writer John Weidman look at assassins, their vision is wayward, tough, ambiguous, sympathetic and bitterly satiric. Richard Israel's on-target production is stark and lively; Johanna Kent's music direction is sure-footed, and the entire cast is splendid. (NW). El Centro Theatre, 804 N. El Centro Ave., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Sept. 28. (323) 460-4443, www.tix.com.

GO THE BAD ARM — CONFESSIONS OF A DODGY IRISH DANCER Máire Clerkin comes from Irish stock and grew up in London. This blend might explain her satirically grim portrait of the world she grew up in, and the cheerfully British mask she places over it. In some ways, Clerkin's one-woman show is a study in the loneliness of being ignored by her workaholic dance-teacher mother, who focused all her attention on the paying customers. This child's-eye view could be peevish stuff were Clerkin not so intractably good-humored. Nor does she place herself above her mocking portraits, including at age 14 a groping suitor in the dance hall, his eyes boggling, tongue swishing lips as he grabs her hips at arm's length and pushes her around the dance floor like a mop. "Hot in here," he notes. "What do you say we step outside for some fresh air?" "That sounds like a good idea," she chirps back with wide-eyed innocence, and with a politeness that forms the outer crust of British civility. Aside from her animated impersonations and snapshot transitions between them, the focal point of Clerkin's coming-of-age saga is her right elbow, that drifts outward while performing Irish folk dances, a "bad arm" that her mother says is responsible for her placing poorly in so many competitions. The requisite of keeping both arms slammed into one's body emerges as a metaphoric constriction in a world that Clerkin captures so meticulously, with the help of Dan O'Connor's direction and Maxine Mohr's pristinely delicate sound design. Intro to snogging (French kissing) is one of many rites of passage detailed by Clerkin with a blend of intrigue and disgust, as is binge-drinking and the morning-after consequences in one high-stakes public display. Clerkin's glorious riffs of traditional Irish dance and disco, and some intermingling of both genres, make her argument for transcendence with nary a word spoken. (SLM) Bang Theatre, 457 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A.; Sun., Aug. 31, Sun., Sept. 7 & Thurs., Sept. 11 & 18, 8 p.m. (323) 653-6886.

>NEW REVIEW GO THE BONES OF LESSER MEN Sure-handedly directed by L. Flint Esquerra, Yves Lola St. Vil’s play, in this world premiere production, presents an engaging mix of sex and politics. Set in the 1990s at Elly’s Place, an African-American-owned diner in Brooklyn, the play focuses on an electoral race for governor that includes a viable Black candidate, the much talked about but unseen “Collins.” Among the regulars at Elly’s Place are the youthful Brooklyn (William Christopher Stephens), who can hardly contain his enthusiasm for Collins, while the middle-aged Junior (Freedom) is skeptical of all politicians. When not cooking, Elly (Staci Ashley) provides a maternal influence, which extends to Collins’ mistress (Randa Walker). Early in the play, much of the uproarious humor emanates from Free (Carl Crudup), a teller of tall tales. But the hilarious, well-written banter of Act 1 gives way to something much darker in Act 2 when one of the characters appears with a series of escalating injuries and bruises. Director Esquerra handles the light and dark elements equally well, adding to the shock in Act 2. As with many plays set in diners or bars, playwright St. Vil includes various stock characters, including a street hustler (Antonio Ramirez) and a church lady (Barbara Barnes), but superb character development puts refreshing new twists on these archetypes. MET Theatre, 1089 N. Oxford Ave., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Sept. 28. (Added perfs Tues., Aug. 26, 8 p.m.; Wed., Aug. 27 & Sept. 3, 8 p.m.; Thurs., Aug. 28 & Sept. 4, 8 p.m.) (323) 957-1152. (Sandra Ross)

BOYLE HEIGHTS Josefina Lopez's play about a family's fear of gossip. Casa 0101, 2009 E. First St., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Sept. 14. (323) 263-7684, www.casa0101.org.

GO CARNY TRASH A burly man named Aye Jaye spins yarns from his life in the carny. Jaye has a rich background in the art of con art. His lecture-demonstration paints a vivid portrait of Americana, mid-20th-century, a rare blend of garishness and romanticism, a study in how Minnesota farmers were dazzled and tricked before there was TV. (SLM). Steve Allen Theater, at the Center for Inquiry-West, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., L.A.; Sat., 8 p.m.. (323) 666-4268.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is a reminder that even the father of our modern mother tongue had to learn while he earned. So it is with director Ron West and his Open Fist ensemble's creaky, modern-dress version of Shakespeare's mistaken-identity protofarce. West moves the action from ancient times to "the beach community of Ephesus, circa 1964," a bare-bones setting consisting of little more than grips dressed as beach cops on bicycles, which is more of a non sequitur sight gag than fully realized production concept. Certainly, it's no help to West's cast members, who must resort to desperate mugging rather than a thorough mastering of their text. (Bill Raden). Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru Aug. 30. (323) 882-6912, www.openfist.org.

THE COMICAL TRAGEDY OR TRAGICAL COMEDY OF MR. PUNCH This lavishly mounted, highly ambitious adaptation of writer Neil Gaiman and illustrator Dave McKeans 1995 graphic novel is a marvel of expressionistic spectacle. Unfortunately, no amount of scenic splendor can camouflage a torpid, overly elliptical script lacking even rudimentary character shadings or conflict-driven scenes. (Bill Raden). Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd., L.A.; Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 4 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m.; thru Sept. 7. (213) 389-3856, www.bootlegtheater.com.

CRAVE Sarah Kane's "fantasia of love, lust, pain, humor, sadness, hope and resignation.". Sierra Stage, 1444 N. Sierra Bonita Ave., West Hollywood; Wed., 8 p.m.; thru Nov. 12. (213) 905-2727.

DARK SIDE OF THE MOON Interpretive piece set to the music of Pink Floyd. Next Stage Theater, 1523 N. La Brea Ave., Second Floor, L.A.; Sun., 8 & 9:30 p.m.. (323) 850-7827.

DELEARIOUS Lyricist-playwright Ron West and composer Phil Swanns overly ambitious travesty about King Lear, modern musicals and the King James Bible is often fun, always energetic <0x2014> but ultimately overbearing. West and Swann also stage, musically direct and play featured roles in this rollicking, far-too-long exercise. (TP). Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru Aug. 30. (323) 882-6912, www.openfist.org.

GO FABLES DU THEATRE The three tales in director Chris Covics' imaginative if occasionally assaultive tour de force are just the top layer of an unpredictable theatrical experience that veers between jaw-dropping creativity and brattiness. At the start of playwrights Brenda Varda and Marva Lewis' trio of one-acts, the entire venue appears to be in a state of chaotic ruin — an actor is laughing drunkenly and slobbering all over an audience member, while other cast members, covered in blood, emerge from behind the stage curtain. The ensemble, finally wrangled like cats into their proper places, perform the vignettes: In "The Stage Coffeehouse," a coffeehouse owner (Ramiq Sayer, flamboyantly channeling The Nutracker's Drosselmyer) oversees the ill-fated romance between two of his patrons. In "Xeera's Night," a succubus (a splendidly sultry Tulie Bouquess) genuinely falls in love with her victim, with horrific results. The play's delicate text is frequently interrupted by mishaps: Fired performers storm the stage, and a rumpled, hirsute critic (not from this paper, thankfully) repeatedly bawls out the cast from his seat. Covics' production shifts in tone from scene to scene — one moment, a genuine homage to French-lite sentiment, as in The Little Prince; the next, a playful spoof of theatrical pretentiousness. The result's an unpredictable show that doesn't just blow out the fourth wall, but hits the fifth and sixth walls as well. (PB) Unknown Theater, 1110 N. Seward St., Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 6 p.m.; through Sept. 27. (323) 466-7781. An Unknown Theater and Immanence Theatre Artists coproduction.

GO FINALLY Stephen Belbers haunting Rashomon-styled drama is powered by Morlan Higgins strong, emotionally nuanced performance. He plays four characters: a washed-up semipro football player; a damaged, miserable wife; a dog with a penchant for Byron and Tennyson; and a football coach. These people are linked by a common thread of guilt, violence and betrayal. Matt Shakmans staging is simple but forceful. (LE3). Black Dahlia Theatre, 5453 W. Pico Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sun., 8 p.m.. (800) 838-3006, www.thedahlia.com.

GROOVE AU GOGO Brilliant shards sparkle in whats otherwise a broken plate-glass window -- what creator Jason M. Solomon calls an acid vaudeville/variety show. Beat-poet rants against social contradictions of modern society (performed by Mike Estim<0x00E9> and Jonathan Kite) get mired in the wafer-thin lighting design that plagues the evening. The shadows, echoes and lingering moments of an empty stage betray the abundant talent on the stage, under Kal Clarkes direction. (SLM). Theatre/Theater, 5041 W. Pico Blvd., L.A.; Mon., 8 p.m.. (323) 954-9795.

>NEW REVIEW INHERIT THE WIND A fictionalization of the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s masterpiece tells of a high school teacher, Bertram Cates (John Paul Karliak), who is put on trial for breaking state law by teaching Darwin’s theories of evolution. To argue the case, a nationally famous politician and orator, Matthew Harrison Brady (James Rice), and a well-known trial lawyer, Henry Drummond (Robert Craig), descend on “heavenly Hillsboro,” setting up an ideological clash of titans that is documented by reporter E.K. Hornbeck (Julie Terrell). While cross-gender casting often proves interesting, Terrell, sounding like Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Hudsucker Proxy, doesn’t quite sell the character. Likewise, Craig, who flubs too many lines, and Rice try too hard to be “larger than life.” At times, even the townsfolk are played a bit hyperbolically as simpletons and hicks. Where director Tiger Reel fails to give his actors nuance, he succeeds in his set design, which is cleverly minimalist, even using the walls as prop storage. The color palette of the citizens’ costumes, a simple Puritan black and white, likewise sets a stylized tone. The production uniquely employs a folk band that plays religious music between scenes, but it gets to be a bit much when it holds up the action of the story. One wishes for a more strongly acted and nuanced production, given the resurrection of Evangelical fervor in the last few years that makes the play as relevant today as it was when it debuted in 1955. This production is nonetheless required viewing for anyone who has never seen the play. (MK) Art/Works Theatre, 6569 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 6 p.m.; thru Sept. 14. (323) 908-7276. An Action! Theatre Company Production.

LAST DANCE Marsha Norman's Southern comedy. Actors Circle Theatre, 7313 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Thurs., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 11. (323) 882-8043, www.actorscircle.net.

LATINOLOGUES TU Rick Najera's comedy showcase. Hayworth Theater, 2509 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; Sat., 10 p.m.; thru Dec. 27. (213) 289-9860, www.latinologues.net.

LONG DAY CUT SHORT Two one-acts by Tennessee Williams: The Unsatisfactory Supperand Hello From Bertha. Actor's Art Theater, 6128 Wilshire Blvd., No. 110, L.A.; Wed., Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Sept. 21. (323) 969-4953, www.plays411.com/longstay.

LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna's romantic comedy. Theatre 68, 5419 Sunset Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Sept. 28. (323) 960-7827, www.plays411.net/lovers.

MACBETHChris Berube turns Shakespeare's play into a modern-day political thriller. Next Stage Theater, 1523 N. La Brea Ave., Second Floor, L.A.; Sat., 8 p.m.; thru Aug. 30. (323) 850-7827, www.berubians.com.

MAGNUM OPUS THEATRE: ABI'S CHOICE Late-night Masterpiece Theatreparody. Sacred Fools Theater, 660 N. Heliotrope Dr., L.A.; Fri., 11 p.m.. (310) 281-8337, www.sacredfools.org.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM Chris Berube's take on Shakespeare's romantic comedy. Next Stage Theater, 1523 N. La Brea Ave., Second Floor, L.A.; Fri., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 5. (323) 850-7827.

GO MONEY & RUN Wayne Rawley's popular Seattle serial, inspired by The Dukes of Hazzard and Miami Vice, debuts with its first installment, "Money, Take Run," in which two hot-blooded criminals, Money (Johanna Watts) and Run (Joshua Sliwa), meet-cute when holding up the same liquor store. When the narrator tells us to "stay tuned for scenes from the next episode," we can only hope that theater's fun is less disposable than this show's TV origins. (AN). Lyric-Hyperion Theater, 2106 Hyperion Ave., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 10:30 p.m.. (800) 595-4TIX, www.moneyandrun.net.

>NEW REVIEW THE PAVILION Craig Wright (Orange Flower Water, Recent Tragic Events) wrote this play “about time,” in 2005, and this is its Los Angeles premiere. Being about time, and small-town folk, it ambles onto the poetical-theatrical turf of Thornton Wilder and Dylan Thomas, which could explain why the narrator (Chris Smith) is clad in black. He reminds us (in case we might forget) that we're in a theater. He propels a styrofoam ball across a wire to represent a shooting star, as background for a very bitter, slightly sweet romance between Kathi (Kristin Chiles) and Peter (Tim Hamelen) at their 10-year high school reunion. (Smith jumps in – often in drag -- to play all the sniggering, swaggering peers Kathi and Peter crash into, many also suffering the heartache of time passing.) Peter is now floundering and Kathi's in a desolate marriage. Peter left Kathi pregnant in high school; on his father's orders, he stopped answering her calls like a cad. And now he's returned to make amends, she's not having much of it, or him, for a while. Chiles' Act 1 shrillness yields to an emotional depth approaching wisdom in Act 2. Hamelen reveals an appealing sensitivity and stoic resolve throughout. Wright includes too much precious narration in order to put a high school reunion in the context of the Big Bang, and the rise and fall of empires. Obren Milanovic directs with wistful intelligence before trying to charm us with the cleverness of the play's many theatrical conceits. Some in the audience might have been charmed. (SLM) Lyric Theatre, 520 N. La Brea Ave., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Oct. 5. (323) 939-9220.

GO POINT BREAK LIVE! Jaime Keelings merciless skewering of the 1991 hyper-action flick starring Keanu Reeves and Gary Busey is loaded with laughs as well as surprises, like picking an audience member to play Reeves' role of Special Agent Johnny Utah. The citys banks are being hit by a gang of robbers known as the Ex Presidents, surfers who always wear the masks of former chief executives while making their withdrawals (in this version Ms. Condi Rice makes an appearance). Utah gets his man, but not before a Grand Guignol scene of blood and guts thats so hideously over the top you cant stop laughing. (LE3). Dragonfly, 6510 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.. (866) 811-4111, www.theatermania.com.

POUR SOME SUNDAY ON ME All-new sketch and improv by the Sunday Company. Groundling Theater, 7307 Melrose Ave., L.A.; Sun., 7:30 p.m.. (323) 934-9700, www.groundlings.com.

PROBLEM CHILD Part one of George F. Walker's "Suburban Motel" series. Tres Stage Theatre, 1523 N. La Brea Ave., Second Floor, L.A.; Fri., 8 p.m.. (323) 461-3673, www.fordamphitheatre.org.

RABBIT HOLE David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer Prize winner. Skylight Theater, 1816 1/2 N. Vermont Ave., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Sept. 7. (323) 855-1556, www.camelotartists.com.

SERIAL KILLERS Late-night serialized stories, voted on by the audience to determine which ones continue. Sacred Fools Theater, 660 N. Heliotrope Dr., L.A.; Sat., 11 p.m.. (310) 281-8337, www.sacredfools.org.

>NEW REVIEW SISSYSTRATA After last year’s scintillating gay version of “The Bacchae” the same production team set to work on this adaptation of “Lysistrata,” Aristophanes' ancient Greek anti-war comedy in which the women of Athens withhold sex from their men until peace is declared. Playwright Allain Rochel and director Michael Matthews leap headlong into a politically-incorrect fantasy in which West Hollywood muscle men are called in to help the Iraq war effort, leaving their sissy boyfriends home to whine, bicker and complain – fabulously. Lip-syncing drag numbers and lisping limp-wristed stereotypes, worthy of Fred Phelps’ slogan “God hates fags,” abound in this self-mocking production. Unfortunately, under Matthews' staging, the caricatures emerge as merely embarrassing rather than hilarious. Only Michael Taylor Gray, in the title role, possesses the needed physical and vocal prowess, yet his character becomes absurdly strident rather than satirical. The butch men are even weaker than the sissies as the whole adventure turns flat and tedious. Marjorie Lockwood’s unflattering costumes, especially for the femmes, would shock any snapping queen who need only swish into any Out of the Closet for better drag. The cartoon set design representing West Hollywood’s enormously popular bar-restaurant The Abbey (substituting for Aristophanes’ Acropolis) provides a bit of visual amusement. (TP) Celebration Theater, 7051-B Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Sept. 28. (323) 957-1884, www.tix.com.

Sissystrata

GO SOME KIND OF LOVE STORY This strange, almost Pirandellian one-act is not what we expect from Arthur Miller. A former New York policeman turned private investigator, Tom (Jack Kehler) is hell-bent on freeing a man he believes has been falsely imprisoned for murder. His only real lead is the woman in the case, Angela (Beege Barkette), but she stubbornly refuses to reveal what, if anything, she knows. Over a five-year period, their sparring has continued: They have been lovers, adversaries and mutual tormentors. He feels that his love for her has brought him back from living death — but he knows he can't trust her. She insists that if she gives him the information he seeks, she will lose him. Neither we nor he can tell if she is a pathological liar, a devious whore, a schizophrenic with multiple personalities, a virtuoso con artist and opportunist, or all of the above. In a single, brilliantly written scene, they play out their story of mutual obsession. Michael Arabian directs with sensitive precision, and his actors serve him with finesse. Barkette is endlessly fascinating as the mercurial, protean Angela, and Kehler provides an admirable foil as an ordinary guy trapped on an emotional roller coaster. Hayworth Theatre, 2509 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through Aug. 31. (323) 960-4442 or www.thehayworth.com. (Neal Weaver)

GO SONA TERA ROMAN HESS Cuban-born playwright Dennis Miles has composed an elegy to lost love and distant battles, set — as he mentions in the program — somewhere in the world, sometime in the past. An old farmer marries a young girl, who ends up running off with the farmer's even younger son. Miles doesn't bother much with that part of the drama, instead beginning his play with the couple, pregnant and broke, returning to the embittered old farmer for help and forgiveness. Into this scenario, Miles drops a traveling circus troupe and the encroaching front line of a devilish war, thus spinning the action toward the kind of surrealism this playwright is known for, full of heightened language and stylized charm. Director Kiff Scholl's production strives for — but falls shy of — matching that style entirely, making for a lopsided experience. Unspecific blocking and characterization muddy some of the more poetic moments, and though Greg Wall as the farmer and Kathleen Mary Carthy as his cat-crazy companion deliver some strong performances, the rest of the cast appear somewhat lost in this miasma. Davis Campbell's set nails the fractured reality of the world, though actors at times self-consciously avoid smacking their heads into slanted rafters. And Becky Gradjeda's sound design lends a haunting rhythm to the words. The Lounge Theater, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through Sept. 21. (323)960-7864. (Luis Reyes)

THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES Frank Gilroy's domestic drama. El Centro Theatre, 804 N. El Centro Ave., L.A.; Tues.-Thurs., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 18. (323) 460-4443, www.tix.com.

SubUBURBIA Eric Bogosian's play set in a 7-Eleven parking lot. Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., L.A.; Through Aug. 31, 8 p.m.. (323) 465-4446.

THE TOMORROW SHOW Late-night variety show created by Craig Anton, Ron Lynch and Brendon Small. Steve Allen Theater, at the Center for Inquiry-West, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., L.A.; Sat., midnight. (323) 960-7785.

WOMEN OF MANHATTAN John Patrick Shanley's study of relationships. Actors Circle Theatre, 7313 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Fri., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 12. (323) 882-8043, www.actorscircle.net.

CONTINUING PERFORMANCES: THE VALLEYS

>NEW REVIEW GO DYNAMITE KABLAMMO When not romping through whirlwind comedy nights, the three-man, two-woman sketch group Dynamite Kablammo has been marshaling video hits online to showcase their brash and off-kilter humor. With new member Meredith Rensa -- a fearless brunette with the face of Vivian Leigh -- the ensemble of Greg Kaczynski (who directs), Dane Biren, Dana DeRuyck, and Matt DeNoto blitz the audience with skits that build in momentum as they shake off their SNL roots with premises that splinter off in clever and unexpected directions. An unhinged blood donor recruit offers reluctant volunteers cocaine; ancient Greek sirens are re imagined as gruff Jersey grandmas, luring Odysseus with soup and sweaters; and when a frozen man's testicles climb into his brain, the gang doesn't go for easy horndog jokes but the primal fun of his hapless balls lurching him around like a broken puppet. Though the room feels too small for big laughs, everyone's chuckling quietly as DeNoto motors through a monologue where he plays a losing coach confessing to running over his rival's dog ("I'm not saying I was drunk . . . because you can't be drunk on meth"); then there's the go-for-broke sound effects of an XXX old time radio show called "Commie Dearest," on which a cuckolded husband dismisses his wife's Soviet seducer with "Your sexual ideas are just as underdeveloped as your political ones." ZJU Theater Group, 4850 Lankershim Blvd., N. Hlywd.; Tues., 8:30 p.m.; thru Sept. 2. (818) 202-4120. www.zombiejoes.com. (Amy Nicholson)

Dynamite Kablammo Photo by Steve Yager

GO FREEDOM OF SPEECH In her solo show, actor Eliza Jane Schneider conjures the people she met on a cross-country sojourn in a decommissioned ambulance. She displays a remarkable ability to conjure a character through sounds and snippets of words. By design, the piece roams as much as Schneider did on her sojourn. This renders the performance a facile tour de force in a presentation still distilling its larger meaning. Sal Romeo directs. (SLM). Sidewalk Studio Theatre, 4150 Riverside Dr., Burbank; Sat.-Sun., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 7. (818) 754-4264.

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME This adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel (book and lyrics by Gary Lamb, music by William A. Reilly) is more like an old-fashioned operetta (with a dash of 19th-century melodrama thrown in) than a modern musical. There's something enduringly touching about the hopeless love of the hideous, deformed bell ringer, Quasimodo (Bill Mendieta), for the beautiful Gypsy girl Esmeralda (Amy Bloom). But the adapters have been too faithful to the original novel: The Gypsy is so deceived by the transparently vicious guardsman that she often seems like a ninny. (NW). St. Matthew's Lutheran GLBT Church, 11031 Camarillo St., North Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.. (818) 942-6684, www.crowncitytheatre.com.

ICEBERG AHEAD! Jay Parker's backstage comedy about an heiress and a theater producer. Lizard Theater, 230 W. Main St., Alhambra; Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 7 p.m.. (626) 371-0014, www.lizardtheater.com.

MY OLD FRIENDS Retirement-home musical by Mel Mandel and Norman Sachs. Victory Theatre Center, 3326 W. Victory Blvd., Burbank; Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 4 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m.; thru Sept. 21. (818) 841-5421, www.thevictorytheatrecenter.org.

>NEW REVIEW SCAREDYCATS As the Neighborhood Watch group in Cheryl Bascom's new farce is arriving at the home of the Pudneys (Julian Berlin and Dan Wingard) -- “20 miles from Rosemead” -- we see how the local police rep, Officer Melton (Bradley Snedeker), can't keep his paws off Mr. Pudney's blonde vixen wife or, later in the play, the babysitter (Lauren Waisbren) for the stuck-up Gleasons (Derek Long and Meeghan Holaway). The neighborhood is a cauldron of infidelity, bigotry, petty jealousy and paranoia. A gunshot, or what sounds like a gunshot, is reason enough for the group to seize a young Latino (Patrick Gomez) whose father owns a pool cleaning company, and who was caught in the yard looking for his cell phone. Bascom's satire of fearing fear itself might stand a chance in a production that's not so over the top. The glaring mockery in Doug Clayton's staging (Mrs. Pudney opens the play striding across her own living room, weapons in hand) reduces to mere frivolity what borders on an American comi-tragedy: that we'll never be secure by being so insecure. Bascom must take some responsibility for underscoring the obvious: One neighbor greets a very swishy couple (Christian Malmin and Josh T. Ryan) with the salutation, “Hi gays, I mean guys.”) On the matinee I attended, somebody slammed the door and an entire shelf, with its contents, came crashing down, flummoxing the actors. It was a metaphor for the production's hyperkinetic energy defying a higher purpose, or any purpose at all. The show features some strong comedic talent that deserves better – Ben Brannon and Heather Corwin as a neo-con neighbor and his horrible, pregnant wife; Long's sneering lech, Pat Gleason, and Waisbren's opportunistic babysitter with a penchant for playing dumber than she is. (SLM) Fremont Centre Theatre, 1000 Fremont Ave., S. Pasadena; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Sept. 28. (866) 811-4111.

Scaredycats Photo by Jose Fernandez

THE SOUND OF MURDER William Fairchild's thriller about a children's book writer and his trophy wife. Lonny Chapman Group Repertory Theatre, 10900 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Oct. 5. (818) 700-4878, www.lcgrt.com.

SUFFER THE LONG NIGHT Writer Mary Ruth Clarke and writer-director-actor-producer Greg Glienna tell the dizzy tale of an inept community theater. Theres plenty of hilarious stuff here and some engaging performances (including Brandon Alexander as an addled high school athlete), but the piece desperately needs sharper editing, pruning and timing. (NW). Meta Theater, 7801 Melrose Ave., L.A.; Fri.-Sun., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 14. (323) 960-7745.

YOU WILL MOST LIKELY DIE Dynamite Kablammo's San Fernando Valley comedy. ZJU Theater Group, 4850 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; Tues., 8:30 p.m.; thru Sept. 2. (818) 202-4120, www.zombiejoes.com.

CONTINUING PERFORMANCES: WESTSIDE, BEACHES

>NEW REVIEW ABIGAIL'S PARTY What might have been provocative 1979, when Mike Leigh's play first appeared, now feels dated. Beverly (Nikki Glick) -- a happily childless, unhappily married woman at the start of her descent into middle age -- and Laurence (Darren Richardson) -- her unremarkable estate agent husband with a love for classical music and sandwiches -- have the neighbors over for drinks. As gin and tonics go down, tensions come up. Playwright Mike Leigh derived much of his work from improvisation, which makes for some pleasantly unexpected turns and subconscious outbursts. However, in revival, it really does reveal itself as a product of its time. Director Julian Holloway shapes this production well for the most part, but a conspicuously contemporary Schwepps bottle and pointless stage business for actors who have to engage themselves while others speak certainly distract from the main action. The cast is primarily strong, with a stellar performance from Phoebe James as a gregarious young party guest. And Charles Erven's set delights in subtleties of the '70s, though Graham Oakes' sound design could actually use some touches of nuance. (LR) Odyssey Theater, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., W.L.A.; Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; from Sept 7: Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Oct. 19. (310) 477-2055.

Abigail's Party: Photo by Enci
GO ALLEY CAT Marnie Olson plays voluptuous Carma in her play (co-written with director Caroline Marshall) about a female sex addict trying to fathom the depths of her self-destructive compulsions, and whether they're part of some desire for, or resistance to, intimacy. She relishes her power over men, she explains to her skeptical therapist (Elisabeth Blake, who also turns in an affecting cameo as the understandably troubled, newly pregnant wife of Carma's musician boyfriend, Rocky (Tui Ho Chee). The production straddles the line between comedic drama and soap opera, but it's salvaged largely by the delicate performances of the entire ensemble, the truthfulness of which passes the severe test of playing in a venue the size of a living room. Excellent portrayals also include Michael Patrick McCaffrey's petty thief/"recovering" coke addict/new-age bookstore clerk, clearly missing some major brain circuitry, and Suzie Kane's Gypsy card reader, Wanda — "Money up front, in the Buddha please." Though Olson and Marshall's script hovers dangerously close to being trite, it avoids that plunge with the buoyancy of its intelligence and humor. As an actor, Olson probes the crisis of her intimacies and loneliness with such a deft mixture of deflective mockery and inner torment, her struggles take on the universal qualities of a culture plagued by addictions and despair. The larger question — why are we all so alone? — comes blazing from the stage with blanching heat, and that temperature is this comedy's higher purpose. (SLM) Psychic Visions Theater, 3447 Motor Ave., West L.A.; Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through Aug. 31. (310) 535-6007. Roadkill Productions.

BAD PENNY consists of speeches and dialogues by Mac Wellman that accrue into an existential theatrical poem/meditation on American life. Production designer Charles Duncombe and director Fr<0x00E9>d<0x00E9>rique Michel provide a beautiful NYC scenic backdrop and well-coordinated presentation style. Theyre working with a largely young company that makes the language perfectly intelligible, but the interpretation fails to reach the needed depths of experience. (SLM). City Garage, 1340 1/2 Fourth St., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Sept. 7. (310) 319-9939.

BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: BEYOND RETIREMENT Cynthia Galles' Social Security comedy. Found Theater, 599 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach; Fri.-Sat., 8:30 p.m.; thru Aug. 30. (562) 433-3363.

NEW REVIEW GO BURY THE DEAD In Irwin Shaw’s 1935 expressionistic anti-war play, six soldiers, killed in combat in an unspecified war, stand up and refuse to be buried. At a time when the U.S. is still reeling from the effects of its wars in Vietnam and Iraq, Shaw’s play possesses a raw power, but it never lets us forget that it’s delivering a message. For the government, the recalcitrant corpses are first and foremost a public relations and morale problem. Soon, however, the dead men’s women-folk are brought in to persuade them to lie down and submit to burial. In a massive but predictable set-piece, each of the soldiers (Andrew Wheeler, John Pick, Brandon Hanson, Colin Golden, Jesse Luken, and Brian Allman) is confronted with a wife, sister, girl-friend or mother, begging him to stop bucking the system. In a telling moment, one tough wife (Donna Jo Thorndale) asks her husband why he waited till he was dead to stand up and fight back. Matthew Huffman’s somber production is terrific, and so is his cast. The Depression-Era detail offers additional interest, but the piece remains more a potently vivid poster than a play. (NW) The Actors’ Gang, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 3 p.m., thru Sept. 13. (310) 838-4264 or www.theactorsgang.com.

CEMETERY GOLF Jim Loucks' one-man show about organized religion. Beyond Baroque, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 13. (866) 811-4111, www.theatermania.com.

>NEW REVIEW CORIOLANUS Intermingling war veterans and theater professionals, director Stephan Wolfert has pared Shakespeare's epic about the Roman warrior Caius Marcius (later dubbed Coriolanus) down to a comparatively lean two hours (with intermission) and fiddled with a bit of the plotting – most noticeably, the demise of the arrogant hero. Coriolanus holds his own people (who haven't served in the military) in open contempt. After many triumphant returns from battles to a starving populace, and at the urging of his mother, Volumnia (Adeye Sahran), Coriolanus (Daniel Kucan) runs for election as a Roman consul. Echoes of our own politics bounce around the stage as discussions of military experience hang in the air. Ultimately, they just ask the big guy to be polite to the commoners, whom he can't endure. Anticipating countless social revolutions to come, Shakespeare has the enraged consular officials ban their own war hero in the name of the people. Understandably, Coriolanus joins the enemy Volscians and leads the foreign army against his own “ungrateful” homeland. After Coriolanus' mother successfully pleads with him to spare Rome, Shakespeare has the Volsciuns kill Coriolanus; but here, he falls on his own sword – not unlike Sophocles' Ajax, who also became deranged from combat, pride, and the urgings of a woman (the goddess Athena). In an outdoor park setting, Wolfert directs the play on three stages, with terrific amplification, enunciation, atmosphere and sense. The acting has more posturing than layering, so that it vaguely resembles a Tom Cruise flick. (Kucan bears some resemblance to the movie star.) Nice performances, however, by Michael Allen as Roman senator Menenius, Bruce Cervi as Volsciun General Aufidius, and Sarhran as Coriolanus' tormented mother. (SLM) The West L.A. Civic Center, 1645 Corinth Ave., W.L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m.; thru Sept. 6. (310) 428-6610, www.wlanc.com. Veterans Center for the Performing Arts and the Los Angeles Area Veterans Artists Alliance.

FUCKING HOLLYWOOD Paul Wagar's update of Arthur Schnitzler's 1987 play “La Ronde.” Ark Theater Company, 1647 S. La Cienega Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Sept. 28. (323) 969-1707.

GO GREAT EXPECTATIONS Margaret Hoornemans delightful adaptation of Charles Dickens saga (book by Brian VanDerWilt and Steve Lozier, music by Richard Winzeler, and lyrics by Steve Lane) remains so faithful to the novel that the epic twists and turns of fate, and of social ascension and decline, emerge. They emerge at the cost of the musicals impetus, but it may be worth that sacrifice. (SLM). Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Aug. 31. (310) 477-2055, www.greatexpecationsmusical.com.

THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT Stephen Adly Guirgis puts Jesus' disciple on trial. Garage Theatre, 251 E. Seventh St., Long Beach; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 6. (866) 811-4111.

MAXIMUM SECURITY All-female prison rock musical by Evelyn Rudie. The Other Space at Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 Fourth St., Santa Monica; Through Aug. 30, 7:30 p.m.; Through Aug. 31, 2 p.m....

PEN Seventeen-year-old Matt (Dennis Bendersky) is a good kid who wants to do right by his disabled mom, Helen (Jill Remez), an MS victim confined to a wheelchair. But Helen is such a bitter, bile-spewing individual that it's difficult to spend an hour with her, let alone days, months and years. Besides her illness, Helen broods over the desertion of her husband, Jerry (Robert Mackenzie), soon to marry a younger woman and move 3,000 miles away. Encouraged by his dad, the college-bound Matt also plans to flee the thorny maternal nest. Written by David Marshall Grant, the play takes on a fundamental moral dilemma: How much do we owe a loved one in need, and how much do we owe ourselves? Drama triggered by this kind of conflict could pack a gritty punch, but this production — at least its first act — unwinds as a lukewarm melodrama despite the characters' heated Sturm und Drang, delivered at a too-unvaried pace under Jeff G. Rack's direction. Notwithstanding her dour expression and sharp tongue, Remez's insufficiently nuanced portrayal never really pinpoints the pain at the core of this unhappy woman's existence. Bendersky does fine as a frustrated teenager, but here again more finely tuned direction could yield so much more. Mackenzie's conflicted, pleasure-loving Jerry is the most probing performance of the three. The play turns fantastical in the second act, an artistic choice intended to address the invisible bonds among individuals, but one that, in terms of storytelling, left me thoroughly confused. (DK) Theatre 40 at the Reuben Cordova Theatre, 241 Moreno Dr., Beverly Hills; in rep, call theater for schedule; through Aug. 31. (310) 364-0535.

CONTINUING PERFORMANCES: THEATER SPECIAL EVENTS

BEDLAM AT THE BALLPARK Plus “Extra Innings: A Vaudeville Revue.” All American Melodrama Theater and Music Hall, 429-E Shoreline Village Dr., Long Beach; Thurs.-Fri., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., 4:30 & 8:30 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Oct. 23. (562) 495-5900, www.allamericanmelodrama.com.

MYSTERIES EN BROCHETTE The beachside hotel dishes out dinner and mystery delights in its Saturday shows with four different performances that alternate., $75, includes dinner. Marina del Rey Hotel, 13534 Bali Way, Marina del Rey; Sat., 7 p.m.. (310) 301-1000.

PAPA SPEAKEASY'S BURLESQUE Lovely ladies entertain you. Stages Theatre Center, 1540 N. McCadden Pl., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 11 p.m.. www.theatreyawp.com.

SPARK: AN EVENING OF STORYTELLING Monthly series of storytelling "sparked" by a particular theme. (Resv. required.). Powerhouse Theatre, 3116 Second St., Santa Monica; First Monday of every month, 7:30 p.m.; thru Nov. 3. (866) OFF-MAIN.

Feuding Cops: Bratton vs. Parks

2008-08-28 08:00:30

There was never any doubt that Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Bratton and City Council Member Bernard Parks were not the best of buds. Parks was ousted as Police Chief and Bratton was brought in, after all. However, who knew that the feuding between the two chiefs was more than a few digs during press conferences?

The Weekly recently snagged a couple of prime examples of their political divide. In a series of letters sent by Parks to the police commission in 2007, the city councilman asked the commission for help dealing with Bratton’s seeming refusal to keep Parks up to date on “critical public safety incidents” in his district.

]]> “In fact, it has always been my understanding that certain protocols exist and are to be followed by the LAPD, one of which is providing immediate notification to the Council office of any major incident,” wrote Parks.

According to Parks, in one instance, Bratton informed Council President Eric Garcetti (who was serving as acting mayor) about a murder in Park’s district before notifying Parks, who wrote, that – even five months later – he still had not heard “a word about it from the department.”

Then, yesterday, Parks' office criticized Bratton over a real doozy -- keeping Parks in the dark about a serial killer who has been murdering African American women in Parks' City Council District 8 since 1985. (See my cover story today.)

Maybe Parks shouldn’t feel too bad. Bratton was “too busy” to speak to the Weekly all this week about the very same serial killer who preys on young black women in South Los Angeles – a psycho the Weekly has dubbed the “Grim Sleeper.” But he had plenty of time for a really important press conference touting the arrest of the “Silverware Bandit” – a guy who was (and no, we aren't making this up) stealing silverware and cutlery on the Westside.

And Bratton recently was interviewed by reporters about how the paparazzi have become less annoying thanks to Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan leading more relaxed lives. Check out Mayor Sam’s blog on the sitch.

Queer Town: The Unexpected Twists of Gay Marriage

2008-08-28 08:00:00

Whenever the accepted norms of society are changed, something unexpected always seems to pop up. With gay marriage in California, this truism of sorts is already starting to play out. According to a report in the Sacramento-based Capitol Weekly, the California Department of Corrections has now given the green light for gay prisoners to wed their same sex partners. The new policy is undoubtedly the kind of thing that few gays and lesbians foresaw when they were celebrating the legalization of same sex marriage back in May.

]]> The corrections department, however, will not allow gay prisoners to marry in the same prison. A gay prisoner may only wed "non-inmates," which may or may not start a flurry of lawsuits. Possibly in anticipation of that, corrections department officials are already citing a longtime rule that bars straight inmates from marrying fellow prisoners, which, as the Capitol Weekly points out, hasn't mattered too much since males and females are housed in separate facilities.

Homosexuality in prisons has always been a quiet reality among inmates--men and women have gay sex, but don't always identify themselves as gay or publicly profess their love for a person of the same sex. So with a new rule that officially validates gay love in California's corrections system, we may see yet another surprise outcome--more and more inmates could feel empowered enough to finally come out of the closet.

This is obviously good, but it won't be surprising that supporters of Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that would ban same sex marriage, will somehow use the corrections department's policy to scare the voting public. That kind of TV ad is probably already in the making.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.

Election '08: Raging Against The Scene

2008-08-27 23:26:45

As Bill Clinton took the stage at the Pepsi Center in Denver to douse the final flames of conflict between the Clinton and Obama camps, another tense showdown was reaching a climax in a fenced off area at the intersection of Speer Boulevard and Market Street, just beyond the scope of the eyes and TV cameras focused on the political theater inside the Democratic National Convention. There, in a bottlenecked and barricaded stretch of street, 50 members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, dressed in full uniform, many displaying an impressive array of service medals, stared down an overwhelming deployment of police on foot, horseback and perched atop the raised platforms of massive SWAT vehicles. With guns, truncheons and tear gas pointed at them, one of the veterans took a microphone and told the police, "We don't want to hurt you and you don't want to hurt us."

Whether that would hold true seemed very much in doubt as the police reinforcements filled in and the veterans, backed by a huge crowd of demonstrators, refused to give ground or cave in to their demands that one of their leaders be allowed to read a letter addressed to Barack Obama and the convention from the podium. The letter demanded an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, full benefits to veterans regardless of the terms of their discharge, and war reparations to the people of Iraq.

As the tension mounted, a young man named Joseph Wise, who was not part of the demonstration and who appeared more likely to be swilling beer at frat party than participating in civil disobedience, was overcome by the spectacle of hundreds of riot-clad police lining up against peacefully demonstrating war vets.

"This is despicable. This is absolutely ridiculous, over the top, storm troopers here," said Wise, who revealed that he is in fact an accountant and not an anarchist.

]]> I asked if he was nervous. "No, I'm not nervous... until the paint balls with the mace start flying."

I asked him why he was here. "We have two parties and no choice," he said.

His friend, James Thompson, who looked just as much the ex-college jock as Wise added, "Does anyone here [at the convention] who supports Jesus Obama know he supported the FISA bill?"

At that moment, one couldn't be faulted for thinking that if these are the Everymen of today, maybe there's hope.

The situation seemed at an impossible standstill just after six p.m., with the huge throng having reached the end of the road after a three-hour, four-mile march from the Denver Coliseum. I asked one of the vets' leaders, Lance Corporal Jeff Key, if the vets would feel vindicated -- given the size of the demonstration, which estimates place at anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000, and the unity and discipline of the disparate assembly -- even if they don't get into the convention.

"I'm not leaving. I'm a Marine," he said. "People are doing evil in our names...There are people who are deeply offended by what they're doing in our names. This needs to be broadcast, not whispered."

Key is a rangy six-foot-four guy with a granite body and a charming Southern demeanor. His story is illustrative of many of the vets I spoke with. Back in 2000, in a fit of idealism, Key joined the Marine Corps at the age of 34. By 2003, he was deployed to Iraq, believing, as he said, that he owed it to the Iraqis to liberate them from Saddam Hussein.

Key comes from a god-fearing, country-loving, blue-collar Alabama family ("If we were around cotton, it was to pick it," he joked). Like the rest of the marching vets, his idealism turned to disillusionment as the truth of this war sunk in. Where Key's story parts with most of his comrades, though, is that he came out as gay to Paula Zahn on CNN and admitted that he used the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy to get discharged, honorably, from service.

The drama in Denver began hours earlier when 9,000 mostly young people got fired up for the day's mission at a concert by Rage Against the Machine and local favorites, the Flobots. Held at the Denver Coliseum, a 56-year-old warhorse of a venue owned by the city and county of Denver and used mostly for rodeos and ice shows, the Rage concert served as much as a staging ground for the rally as it did a reintroduction for many to the band's hard-edge agitprop.

Indeed, one marcher, who seemed to be everywhere at once, declined some of the more popular chants, such as "Tell Me What We're Fighting For: Stop the Torture Stop The War" or "Tell Me What Democracy Looks Like: This is What Democracy Looks Like" for the more personal "Rage Is Back! Best Band Ever!" which he shouted during the entire procession. His singular obsession was topped, perhaps, only by another guy who insisted upon "Steven Colbert For President."

When the concert ended, the crowd hit the streets around 3:30 p.m. carrying signs proclaiming Rage For Peace, Fund Them Home, Grow A Spine, Drop Beats Not Bombs and the like. Some held tombstones fashioned of cardboard with the names of fallen soldiers and R.I.P. marked on them. I asked an earnest-looking guy carrying one of the tombstones if he knew the dead soldier on his sign.

"No, they just gave this to me," he said.

"What made you want to come out here?"

"Rage Against the Machine," he replied.

"They told you what to do and you followed?"

"Yeah."

Near the beginning of the march, I caught up with Liam Madden a 24-year-old vet who was a Sergeant with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. Madden, it became clear as the demonstration proceeded was, with Key, the other leader of the demonstrating vets.

"The war in Iraq is illegal," he told me as the throng set out from the Coliseum along a somewhat barren stretch of road in a derelict commercial strip of the city about four miles northeast of the shiny, newly minted Lower Dowtown (Lo-Do) district hosting the convention. "The War In Iraq is illegal. The Democratic party can no longer hide behind the veil that they're the anti-war party when they've funded the war and continue to fund it. They authorized it. The vets who have fought the war want their brothers home now... It's fought and based on lies. It's unacceptable."

The procession proceeded through downtown Denver along Arapahoe Street where patrons of upscale restaurants and bars came out to cheer the vets and their supporters. As the march approached the Pepsi Center, it was funneled through the tight pedestrian walkways of the Auraria Campus, home to the Metropolitan State University of Denver, UC Denver and Colorado Community College. The police presence increased as maneuvering room to get out of harm's way shrunk.

A woman named Jessica Noble marched with her kids Hailee, 12, and seven-year-old Aubree. One couldn't help but wonder if they were in the right place at the right time.

"Revolution starts with youth," Noble assured me. "It's going to be a memorable thing for them."

Hailee agreed. "It's good. It's about peace."

It wasn't so clear it would be about peace as the crowd bottlenecked at Speer and Market a few hundred yards from where Clinton was assuring the world that Obama was ready and able. At a standstill and a standoff, and with police multiplying like cancer cells, Key and Madden assured a growing horde of media types that they would remain peaceful regardless of what the police did and were ready to be arrested if necessary.

Meanwhile, organizers had been desperately attempting to reach the Obama camp by phone, which seemed like a Quixotic quest at best. Tensions festered for about an hour before Key asked if a police liaison would allow one of the vets inside the convention. After some drama-filled negotiations between the police and Keys, Madden and march organizers, punctuated by vets with bullhorns pleading for peace in the background, an announcement rang through the crowd that the Obama camp had agreed to meet with the representatives of the vets.

A triumphant cheer filled the air as demonstrators and soldiers hugged. Many cried and a palpable sense of release blew over the scene like a cool breeze. It had been a long, hard day. A visibly exhausted and relieved vet named Joshua Earl smoked a cigarette and allowed some tears to steam down his cheeks.

"We worked so hard for this," the burly 26-year-old Denver native told me. "This is a real victory."

I wasn't so sure. The announcement had the feel of a Kabuki dance aimed at sending the spent crowd on its way with some good vibrations in their soles. As the demonstrators started thinning out and Key told the media this was "a wonderful example of how diplomacy can work" some pressed him about when and where the meeting would take place. Key insisted that Phillip Carter the Obama campaign's veteran's director, an Iraq War vet himself, would be deciding when and where the meeting would take place.

"How sure are you?" I asked.

"I'm sure. I'm a Marine and I accomplish my missions," he said.

Satisfied that the war of wills was over, most of the crowd and media drifted off into the night.

Still, there was the matter of the letter getting inside of the convention. Key and Madden lingered around the perimeter of the police line, apparently still in negotiations. With most of the crowd gone, I wondered where was their leverage. Even the cops started dissembling. Now I was sure the resolution was more stagecraft worked out between the cooler heads among the cops and vets than a victory.

Damn, I'm a cynic. Sure enough, three crisp suits stealthily approached the west end of the police line where Jeff Keys and Liam Madden met them, had a few words and handed over a piece of paper. One of the suits was Phillip Carter. Keys said he was taking the vets' letter into his staff. This little war was over for now.

"Although we were prepared to be arrested and suffer physical harm, I'm excited. We accomplished more than I thought we would," said a clearly drained Madden.