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AT YOUR FINGERTIPS, THIS COMING WEEK'S COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGS

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGS for May 8-14, 2009

(The weekend's New Reviews are embedded in "Continuing Performances" below . You may also be able to search for them by title using your computer's search program.)

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

OPENING THIS WEEK

BIG, THE MUSICAL Boy grows up overnight in this musical adaptation of the Tom Hanks film. Book by John Weidman, music by David Shire, lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. El Centro Theatre, 804 N. El Centro Ave., L.A.; opens May 8; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru June 28. (323) 460-4443.

CROWNS Church hats make the lady in this gospel musical, adapted by Regina Taylor from the book Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry. Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, 4718 W. Washington Blvd., L.A.; opens May 8; Thurs.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru June 14. (323) 964-9768.

COURTING VAMPIRES World premiere of Laura Schellhardt's drama about a bloodsucker put on trial. Boston Court, 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena; opens May 9; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru June 7. (626) 683-6883.

DIRTY DANCING -- THE CLASSIC STORY ON STAGE Eleanor Bergstein, screenwriter of the 1987 box-office hit, gives her formulaic film the Broadway treatment. In case you forgot, here's the high concept: "Two fiercely independent young spirits from different worlds come together in what will be the most challenging and triumphant summer of their lives.". Pantages Theater, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., L.A.; opens May 10; Sun., May 10, 6 p.m.; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 1 & 6:30 p.m.; thru June 28. (213) 365-3500.

FREUD REVOLTS Lyda L. McPherson's dramedy about a psychiatrist and her patients. Raven Playhouse, 5233 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; opens May 8; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru May 24, www.plays411.com/freudrevolts. (818) 720-2009.

HALF OF PLENTY Lisa Dillman's satire of modern life, lean times and neighborhood watch. Theatre/Theater, 5041 Pico Blvd., L.A.; opens May 8; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru June 21, www.roguemachinetheatre.com. (323) 960-7774.

HANK AND MY HONKY TONKY HEROES Jason Petty is country music icon Hank Williams. El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; opens May 14; Thurs.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 3 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru May 24. (866) 811-4111.

THE IDEA MAN Corporate bosses seize the greed when a line worker proposes a revolutionary idea, in Kevin King's class-warfare commentary. Elephant Stageworks, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; opens May 8; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru June 13, www.plays411.com/ideaman. (323) 960-4410.

MARRY ME A LITTLE/THE LAST FIVE YEARS East West Players present a pair of one-acts: Stephen Sondheim's deleted Broadway tunes and Jason Robert Brown's bidirectional romance. David Henry Hwang Theater, 120 Judge John Aiso St., L.A.; opens May 13; Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru June 7...

ONCE UPON A MATTRESS Princess-and-pea musical, adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. Music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. Lyric Theatre, 520 N. La Brea Ave., L.A.; opens May 14; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru June 21. (323) 939-9220.

RETRO COCO: MISS COCO PERU IS UNDAUNTED Drag queen artist Miss Coco Peru's "hilarious personal exorcism.". L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center, Renberg Theatre, 1125 N. McCadden Pl., L.A.; opens May 8; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru May 10. (323) 860-7302.

RICHARD II The Porters of Hellsgate take on Shakespeare's doomed king. Whitmore-Lindley Theatre Center, 11006 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood; opens May 8; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3:30 p.m.; thru May 31. (818) 761-0704.

THE SENKOTSU (MIS)TRANSLATION PROJECT Denise Uyehara's performance installation deconstructs the burial rituals of Okinawa amid butoh dance and sanshin music. Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica; May 8-9, 8:30 p.m.. (310) 315-1459.

SETUP & PUNCH A pair of Broadway composers are forced to collaborate with a rock star, in Mark Saltzman's comedy. The Blank Theatre, 6500 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; opens May 9; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru June 21. (323) 661-9827.

SO HARD: A BLACK GAY MAN NAVIGATES WEST HOLLYWOOD IN A NEW AMERICA Derek Ringold's "multiple-threat" performance mixes monologue, dance and video. Zephyr Theater, 7456 Melrose Ave., L.A.; opens May 13; Wed., 8 p.m.; thru May 27. (323) 623-9036.

TRAFFICKING IN BROKEN HEARTS Edwin Sanchez's play about a gay hustler torn between two lovers. Celebration Theatre, 7051-B Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; opens May 8; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru June 7, www.tix.com. (323) 957-1884.

WILDWOOD: A WESTERN FABLE Wild West saloon turns 99-seat theater in Tom Patrick's parody. Hayworth Studio, 2509 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; opens May 10; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru May 31, wildwoodawesternfable@gmail.com. (213) 389-9860.

CONTINUING PERFORMANCES IN LARGER THEATERS REGION-WIDE

NEW REVIEW GO AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' Come for Act 2. Richard Maltby, Jr. directed this music-bar revue of songs from the Fats Waller era, many composed by Waller, with words by a stream of lyricists, including Maltby, Jr. Like the director, choreographer Arthur Faria has also returned from years-long involvement with the 1978 Broadway show to streamline this revival -- dwarfed somewhat by the Ahmanson' barn-like scale. The glitz of  shimmering streams of small lights that rim the feet of stairways, or blast in an arc over John Lee Beatty's art deco set (lighting design by Pat Collins), only gets in the way. Music director William Foster McDaniel sits parked at a spinet that floats across the stage through the wonder of hydraulics. I found Act 1 insufferable, with the women in the five actor ensemble overplaying the same bits of mock-jealousy and forced, girly eroticism, as though Malby, Jr. adhered to the dubious principle that if a gag fails once, keep repeating it until it works. The interpretations of 15 songs in Act 1, including "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Squeeze Me," ranges from competent to painful, with the uber-effect of cheesiness stemming from the strain of forcing an intimate revue into the kind of overly broad performing style that it just can't accommodate. Act 2, is like a different show. The glitz recedes, and the style settles into something more earnest and simple -- even the vaudeville bits, such as Eugene Barry-Hill's terrific rendition of "The Viper's Drag" in which he wobbles amidst jazzy crooning about the pleasures of reefer. Most of the act, however, is committed to blues and ballads, sung with emotional earnestness and simple tech support, with the help of the great eight-piece band behind them, and McDaniel on piano. The show is about the music and contains a wit that 's far more savvy and wry that the style of humor in Act 1. The music also provides a mirror onto the ambitions and torments of people in the years before WWII.  When the performers (also including Doug Eskew, Armelia McQueen, Roz Ryan and Debra Walton) are left alone to do what they do best, the show takes flight. The company turns "Black and Blue" into an ethereal quintet, accompanied only by the piano, that could be been plucked from a church service. Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave.; Tues.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m.; Sun., 1 & 6:30 p.m.; through May 31. (213) 638-4017 or http://centertheatregroup.org. (Steven Leigh Morris)

Debra Walton and Eugene Barry-Hill in Ain't Misbehavin' Photo by Craig Schwartz

BACK TO BACHARACH AND DAVID This splashy production provides a timely reminder of just how much the songs of Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) have imbedded themselves in our consciousness. With their 40 chart-topping hits, many written for Dionne Warwick, they created an astonishing body of work. This production, with musical arrangements by Steve Gunderson, direction by \Kathy Najimy, and busy choreography by Javier Velasco, features some 30 of their songs, including "Close To You," "I Say A Little Prayer," and "What The World Needs Now Is Love." The four performers, Diana De Garmo, Tom Lowe, Susan Mosher and Tressa Thomas are expert, energetic and vocally adept (two of them are American Idol alums), but the production suggests a cabaret show masquerading as a rock concert. The vast venue works against intimacy and tends to homogenize the performers, while the flashing, moving, sometimes blinding colored lights, cinematic projections, and smoke machines can distract, particularly from the less familiar songs. One is grateful for the moments, like Lowe's rendition of "Alfie," when someone is allowed to just sing, without being overloaded with production values or cutesy choreography. It's a fun show, and it goes down smoothly, but a little less might have provided a little more. (NW) The Music Box @ Fonda, 6126 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood; www.etix.com for schedule and tickets; thru May 17.
EMILIE Lauren Gunderson's true story of <0x00C9>milie du Ch<0x00E2>telet's affair with Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire. South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa; Tues.-Fri., 7:45 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 2 & 7:45 p.m.; thru May 10. (714) 708-5555.

THE FANTASTICKS The world's longest-running musical, which is also now running off-Broadway, with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. Directed by Jason Alexander. UCLA Freud Playhouse, Macgowan Hall, Westwood; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; thru May 17. (310) 825-2101.

GO GHOSTS There's nothing supernatural about Henrik Ibsen's 1881 drama: his ghosts are our own bitter memories and the old, dead ideas that continue to confine and stifle us. The form and the language may be dated, but the issues are as fresh as ever. Mrs. Alving (Deborah Strang) has crucified herself in the service of duty and respectability that narrow provincial society and her own hypocritical minister, Pastor Manders (Joel Swetow), have drilled into her. But her efforts to do the right thing have back-fired because they were based on lies, and her attempts to shield her son (J. Todd Adams) from hard truths have almost destroyed him. Ibsen has structured his play like Oedipus Rex -- or a modern whodunit. On a seemingly ordinary day, inconvenient truths keep emerging, inexorably, till everything and everyone is morally compromised or destroyed. Director-adapter Michael Murray has assembled a fine cast (including Mark Bramhall and understudy Rebecca Mozo); he calibrates their performances with precision, and reveals a sharp eye for Ibsen's dark comedy. If one wanted to quibble, one might wish the last scene had been played for a bit less melodrama, but overall it's a terrific, coherent, and always engrossing production. Nikki Delhomme provided the fine costumes. (NW) A Noise Within, 234 South Brand Blvd., Glendale; in alternating rep through May 8; call for schedule. (818) 240-0910.
LOOKING FOR NORMAL Gender-bender comedic drama by Jane Anderson about a middle-aged Midwesterner who decides after 25 years of marriage that he wants a sex-change operation. Malibu Stage Company, 29243 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 5 p.m.; thru May 24. (310) 589-1998.

LOUIS & KEELY: LIVE AT THE SAHARA I haven't seen this musical study of '50s lounge-act crooners Louis Prima and Keely Smith since its transcendent premiere at Sacred Fools Theatre last year, and oh, is it different. Documentary and Oscar-nominated film maker Taylor Hackford has been busy misguiding writer-performers Jake Broder and Vanessa Claire Smith's musical. Taylor took over from director Jeremy Aldridge, who brought it to life in east Hollywood. Smith and Broder have drafted an entirely new book, added onstage characters - including Frank Sinatra (Nick Cagle) who, along with Broder and Smith, croons a ditty. (As though Cagle can compete with Sinatra's voice, so embedded into the pop culture.) They've also added Prima's mother (Erin Matthews) and other people who populated the lives of the pair. The result is just a little heartbreaking: The essence of what made it so rare at Sacred Fools has been re-vamped and muddied into a comparatively generic bio musical, like Stormy Weather (about Lena Horne) or Ella (about Ella Fitzgerald). The good news is the terrific musicianship, the musical direction originally by Dennis Kaye and now shared by Broder and Paul Litteral, remains as sharp as ever, as are the title performances. Broder's lunatic edge and Bobby Darin singing style has huge appeal, while Vanessa Claire Smith has grown ever more comfortable in the guise and vocal stylings of Keely Smith. It was the music that originally sold this show, and should continue to do so. With luck, perhaps Broder and Smith haven't thrown out their original script. (SLM) Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood; Tues.-Thurs., 8 p.m.; Fri., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., 3:30 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 & 7:30 p.m.; through June 28. (310) 208-54545.

LYDIA This L.A. premiere of Octavio Solis' poetical drama boasts many of the same actors featured when the play premiered at the Denver Theater Center. And staying with a production for so long is one possible explanation for the dynamic and richly textured performances by Stephanie Beatriz in the title role - a feisty teenage maid hired from Mexico by a dubiously assimilated Latino-American family in mid 1970s El Paso. Her mirror image is the teenage daughter, Ceci (Onahoua Rodriguez, equally enhralling), of a bitter short order cook, Claudio (Daniel Zacapa, in a perfectly modulated interpretation of brutal machismo and sensitive stoicism) and his vivacious wife, Rosa (Catalina Maynard). Ceci suffers brain damage from an auto accident that left her writhing and twitching, speaking with what one character calls a "vegetable tongue." But when Solis and director Juliette Carrillo spin out some magical realism, Ceci rises like a dancer and speaks with hidden knowledge in waves of thick poetry. At first, juxtaposed against the gentle strains of a guitar and the family's daily rituals, the effect has a transcendent beauty, but eventually this etherial device simply imposes on the play's more rudimentary aspect: investigating the mystery of what led to the terrible car crash. The answer involves a pair of brothers, one a sensitive poet (Carlo Albán), the other a fighter (Tony Sancho), and a cousin (Max Arciniega) who, early on, shows up in an INS uniform -- a sliver of foreshadowing that's every bit as bludgeoning as the many mirror images are delicate. This is a hefty play that's ultimately, without any intended irony, the kind of tele-novella (with some dream sequences) that the characters watch in their living room. Reaching for epic, it's mostly long - the difference being in the quality of the secrets unearthed. (SLM) Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown; Tues.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2:30 p.m.; Sun., 1 & 6:30 p.m.; through May 17.

THE REHEARSAL Jean Anouilh's story of a jaded count and his jealous court in 1950s France. A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale; Sun., May 10, 2 & 7 p.m.; Through May 15, 8 p.m.; Through May 23, 8 p.m.; Through May 24, 2 p.m.. (818) 240-0910.

GO THE SEAFARER If you're seeking innovation in the theater, look elsewhere. Conor McPherson's Irish yarn is chip off the stock-block of Celtic-folklore - story-telling, bullshitting, scatological jokes, card playing and a visit by somebody from the metaphysical realm, which raises the not-trivial question: what on earth are we doing with our time? Thanks to a quintet of sharp-as-they-come performances, under Randall Arney's carefully calibrated production, the event holds up. McPherson's drama isn't as menacing as in New York; Arney gives it a lighter touch, which reveals some of its holes but also skirts around both melodrama and glibness. This is starkly moral universe, filled with causes and consequences, where somebody named Mr. Lockhart (Tom Irwin, in a spit-and-polished suit) arrives to collect an old debt at the North Dublin home-tavern of Sharky (Andrew Connolly) and his disabled brother, Richard (John Mahoney) - who blinded himself while scavenging in a trash canister. The drama slowly pivots on a poker game with life and death stakes as the men, including denizens Ivan (Paul Vincent O'Connor) and Nickly Giblin (Matt Roth) - who's the new husband of Sharky's ex-wife - try to bluff their way through the night, which is really the larger allegory for existence. Imagine Harold Pinter having re-written Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in an Irish brogue. Arney's gentle production can't mask or provide irony for the sentimental resolution, but the strength of his interpretation derives from the silent, brooding power of Connolly's victimized Sharky, and the perverse indulgences of Sharky's blind brother, played by Mahoney with a gleeful grittiness that renders him a weird blend of whining matron and the power-broker of the house. The marvelous, tawdry details of Takeshi Kata's set have little congruence with the actors' perfect teeth - one tiny reminder of how difficult it is to leave Hollywood on our stages, despite theater's magic.(SLM) Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood; Tues.-Thurs., 7:30 p.m.; Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 4 & 8:30 p.m.;Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; through May 24. (310) 208-54545.

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW Shakespeare's battle of the sexes. (Schedule varies, call for info.). A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale; Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; thru May 17. (818) 240-0910.

CONTINUING PERFORMANCES IN SMALLER THEATERS SITUATED IN HOLLYWOOD, WEST HOLLYWOOD AND DOWNTOWN

<3 Imagine what Tristan Tzara, co-creator of Dadaism, would have done had he access to the Internet, cell phones, instant messaging and video projection. In the midst of World War I, Dada protested bourgeois culture and intellectual conformity, a mindset shared by the younger brother of the groom who texts his screed against the post-9/11 world to his blog as he mopes about a Los Angeles wedding reception. He, along with the bride and groom's friends and their dates, make up the group waiting for the happy couple to arrive in this collaboratively developed play. Each of the 20-somethings has his or her own neurosis, and most center on some aspect of love (the title of the piece if you tilt your left ear downwards to look at it). Unfortunately, due to the lack of through-line and character depth, the play ends up as episodes, as though from a teen reality show. Director Jenny Byrd employs creative blocking and gets a good effort from the cast, but even their best can't compensate for the dearth of substance in the text. The extensive use of digital projection and multimedia is interesting at times, but somewhat ham-fisted in the attempts to mimic the "ADD lifestyle" of the millennial generation. One exception is a projection of the L.A. skyline, which is both picturesque and realistically creates a rooftop view of the city. Aside from that great view, most of the event had me wondering WTF? (MK) Studio/Stage, 520 N. Western Ave., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; through May 9. www.restartyourheart.com A Brimmer Street Theatre Co. Production.

ACME THIS WEEK ACME's flagship sketch show, with celebrity guest hosts each week. Acme Comedy Theatre, 135 N. La Brea Ave., L.A.; Sat., 8 p.m.. (323) 525-0202.

THE BIG RANDOM Just minutes into Dana Yeaton's road drama, you get the unmistakable, justified feeling that the evening will be a long one. Claire (Madison Flock) is a gangly teenager with an oddly charming demeanor ; she's been confined to a mental institution because she is a "cutter." She is heavily medicated and seemingly trapped in an inner world of lurid, violent fantasies, until a sudden visit by her estranged godfather Roland (Eric Charles Jorgenson), whom she slyly cons into helping her escape. At this juncture, the story starts to take off but never quite leaves the ground. The pair head north to Canada, stop to eat, stop to sleep, get stopped by a gendarme, camp out in the woods, see the sights, and eventually wind up at a church where something spiritual occurs - a heavenly grace that feels more like a convenience for the playwright than a convincing transformation. That Yeaton fails to tell much of a story here is just part of the problem. Despite his neatly written script, he hardly scratches the surface of Claire's pathology (one that is shared by many young girls), and leaves too many questions lingering. Teenager Flock turns in a fine performance under Sam Roberts' direction. (LE3) Attic Theatre and Film Center, 5429 W. Washington Blvd., L.A., Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; thru May 10. (323) 960-7776.

BILL W. AND DR. BOB Samuel Shem and Janet Surrey's story of Alcoholics Anonymous. Theatre 68, 5419 Sunset Blvd., L.A.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru May 31. (323) 960-7827.

GO BRONZEVILLE Tim Toyama and Aaron Woolkfolk's drama centers around the Goodwins, a black family looking for a new life and respite from southern racism in Los Angeles during the early years of WWII. After their move into a home (an artfully designed set piece by J.P. Luckenbach) formerly occupied by a Japanese family that was forced to relocate to a camp, all seems well. Mama Jane (CeCe Antoinette) is the sharp-tongued, devout matriarch who loves to garden and has vivid memories of life as a slave. Her son Felix (Larry Powell), is young and angry, and has hopes of becoming a musician, while his brother Jodie (Dwain A. Perry), is a simple working man with a devoted wife (Adenrele Ojo) and teen daughter (Candice Afia). But the Goodwin's soon discover that they have a "guest," when Henry (fine turn by Jeff Manabat) tumbles into their midst, forming a bond with his new family, but also forcing Jodie to make a troubling, fateful decision that impacts the lives of everybody. Director Ben Guillory does a fine job directing this provocative piece. Woolfolk and Toyama's script is well written and subtly explores philosophical and moral issues that are as relevant today as they were then. (LE3) Los Angeles Theater Center, 514 S. Spring St., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru May 17. (213) 489-0994. A Robey Theatre Company production.

THE COUNTRY WIFE William Wycherley's 1675 cuckold satire. Hayworth Theatre, 2511 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru May 30. (323) 969-1707.

THE CRUCIBLE Arthur Miller's ageless tale of fear, greed and power surrounding teenage girls trying to conjure witchcraft in the 17th-century town of Salem. Crossley Terrace Theatre, 1760 N. Gower St., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m.; Sat., 2:30 p.m.; thru May 16. (323) 462-8460.

DADDY'S DYIN', WHO'S GOT THE WILL Director Jeff Murray has here substituted the "white trash" clan in Del Shores' comedy about a dysfunctional family in 1986 Texas with an African-American cast. For most of the evening, it's funny watching this caustic mix of vipers playing head games and sniping at each other. Shores<0x2019> dialogue is blisteringly funny, but sometimes these qualities don't emerge forcefully enough under Murray's understated direction. (LE3). Theatre/Theater-Hollywood, 1625 N. Las Palmas Ave., L.A.; Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru May 31. (323) 954-9795.

DEAD, THEREFORE I AM Writer-director Max Leavitt's furious passion project tracks a suicidal 30-year-old named John (Leavitt), who lives in his parents' garage where he's haunted by Sophie (Karen Jean Olds) -- the obsessive goth girl next door -- and the sniping Egyptian god Anubis (Nicholas Tucci). John's depressed, and since he enters the play with his head severed by a guillotine, we know things aren't going to end well, especially as his coping mechanisms are booze, pills, and screaming at Sophie and Anubis. Both have John in their bondage: Sophie, because they're furtively, allegedly in love (though tenderness is missing from all of their interactions), while Anubis has John on a physical and emotional choke chain to train him into thinking his miserable life is nothing more than a doorway to the underworld. With its subtleties overwhelmed in histrionics, and its comedy made glum by all Leavitt's sincere agony, this is still a work in progress -- a play fumbling through the stressful business of discovering its strengths, just like its protagonist. (AN) East Theatre at the Complex, 6468 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru May 24. (323) 960-7714.

NEW REVIEW GO THE DESIGNATED MOURNER Written in the dark days when humanistic ideals seemed under siege by the barbarian imperatives of globalization (a.k.a. the Clinton-Gingrich years), Wallace Shawn's speculative fable is a pitch-black, comic lament for the demise of the belletrist class. Set in a fictional land that seems strangely to resemble New York, the play follows the travails of an aging literary lion, Howard (Don Boughton), and his hero-worshiping daughter, Judy (Sarah Boughton), as they and their genteel circle fall victim to a fascistic regime. Telling their tale is the play's titular mourner, Jack (Michael Kass), Judy's deceptively genial husband and one of the pettiest, mean-spirited and most unreliable narrators in stage literature. A member of Howard's inner circle by accident of marriage, Jack is a hopeless lowbrow whose envy for his father-in-law's highbrow stature soon turns into a toxic resentment as his own intellectual limitations exclude him from Judy and Howard's rarified world. Director Matthew McCray nimbly navigates a potentially unwieldy text -- essentially three interwoven monologues -- ably realizing all of Shawn's famously acerbic wit and savage ironies. Kass's Jack is a marvel of modulation as the affably sympathetic everyman of Act I metamorphoses into the venomous, solipsistic scoundrel of Act II. Equally fine is Sarah Boughton's sweetly captivating study in filial fidelity. It is Don Boughton, however, with his mesmerizing portrait of the play's deeply flawed patrician poet, who all but steals the show. Son of Semele, 3301 Beverly Blvd., L.A.; Mon.-Tues., Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat., May 16, 3 p.m.; thru May 23. (213) 351-3507. (Bill Raden)


The Designated Mourner Photo courtesy of Son of Semele Ensemble

GO THE DEVIL WITH BOOBS Director Tom Quaintance and his cast work theatrical magic with this superb staging of Dario Fo's bawdy satire (in a finely tuned translation by Jon Laskin). Fo is as much a prankster and polemicist as he is a playwright, all of these aspects are richly displayed here. The action takes place in a town in Northern Italy where fraud, corruption and vice run amok. However, the staunchly upright Judge Alfonso de Tristano (Michael Winters) is a light amidst the darkness, a, man so pure he recoils at the sight of a pair of tits. This situation is intolerable to Master Devil Francipante (the stellar and dangerously funny Phillip William Brock) and his apprentice (Herschel Sparber), so they conspire to possess the judge's body and spirit. Unfortunately, the plan backfires and the judge's buxom housekeeper (Katherine Griffith) winds up playing host to the devil, which causes an eruption of comedy, naughty bits, and mayhem. Quaintance provides fluid, intelligent direction, but the cast is flawlessly funny. Even the musical ditties scattered throughout are nicely done (one such number by Brock had me laughing so hard I thought I'd pass out). Cristina Wright's period costumes and puppets are a riot, and Adam Rowe's set piece (composed almost exclusively of doors), adds just the right touch. (LE3) Open Fist Theater, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m, Sun. 3 p.m. thru. May 16. (323) 882- 6912.

GO DIVORCE! THE MUSICAL Erin Kamler's witty and entertaining new musical satire (for which she wrote the music, the lyrics and the book) takes apart almost every emotional phase of a marital breakup, including the horrors of dating and the hollows of rebound sex, and sets it to chirpy and wry songs that feature some sophisticated musical juxtapositions and harmonies. (Musical direction and arrangements by David O) Kamler skirts the apparent danger of triteness (setting a too familiar circumstance to music) by cutting beneath the veneer of gender warfare. This is a study of the decaying partnership of a resentful Brentwood radiologist (Rick Segall) and his aspiring actress wife (Lowe Taylor), goaded by their respective attorneys. The lawyers are the villains here - one (Gabrielle Wagner), a Beverly Hills shark, the other (Leslie Stevens), a swirl of confusion from her own recent divorce and now "temporarily" based in Studio City. These vultures collude to distort the grievances of their clients, who both actually care about their exes, and would be better off without "representation." They might even remain married, the musical implies. Director Rick Sparks gets clean, accomplished performances from his five-person ensemble (that also includes Gregory Franklin, as the Mediator - i.e. host of an absurdist game show.) Danny Cistone's cubist set with rolling platforms masks the live three-piece band, parked behind the action: This includes the ex-groom's impulsive decision, based in his lawyer's misinformation, to removal all furniture from his home, where he ex-bride continues to live -- only to find his bank accounts and credit cards frozen. In the song, "We Stuck It Out," there's a kind of Sondheimian ennui to the verities of life-long partnerships. The song is ostensibly an homage to his parents, in whose basement he winds up living. As the Brits would say, marriage is bloody hard work. (SLM) Hudson Mainstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; indef. (323) 960-1056.

DOLORES Edward Allen Baker's dark comedy about two abused sisters. Lounge Theatre, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Sun., May 10, 8 p.m.; Sun., May 17, 8 p.m.. (323) 960-7822.

DOOMSDAY KISS As you enter the lobby, you're greeted with an art installation that reflects the theme of nuclear annihilation, complete with a performance from a live band featuring a USO-style chanteuse. The ambience of all this sets up an evening of four short plays centered on visions of post-apocalyptic worlds. While three are standalone pieces, the fourth, "Who is Randall Maxit," about the crisis of conscience faced by a retired nuclear scientist, is interwoven throughout, though a bit haphazardly. "You Might Be Waking Up," the first of the trio, takes place in an office building turned Survivor set where the workers scrounge for food, reveal their sexual fantasies, and riff on aging, bodily functions, and relationships -- among other things. In "Fun Days at Sea," the most entertaining of the lot, a pair of newlyweds and a pair of swingers are lubricated by a steady stream of alcohol from the cruise ship's bartender and try to enjoy themselves despite constant radio transmissions about the crumbling world outside the vessel. Finally, "The Class Room" features a teacher in remote country schoolhouse interviewed by a strangely sexual reporter about her success improving the temperament of young children. While the concept is interesting, and there are funny moments along the way (especially from Michael Dunn and Jessica Hanna, who play the swingers in "Fun Days"), most of the evening lacks the stakes that go along with doomsday scenarios as well as the character development that would create audience engagement. (MK) Bootleg Theater, 2200 Beverly Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through May 10. (213) 389-3856. A Repo Division Production.

ENTER THE SUNDAY All-new sketch and improv by the Sunday Company. Groundling Theater, 7307 Melrose Ave., L.A.; Sun., 7:30 p.m.. (323) 934-9700.

EURYDICE The myth of Orpheus and his bride, told from Eurydice's perspective, by Sarah Ruhl. Hayworth Theatre, 2511 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru May 16. (323) 960-7726.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Weekly sketch comedy. Acme Comedy Theatre, 135 N. La Brea Ave., L.A.; Fri., 8 p.m.. (323) 525-0202.

NEW REVIEW FUBAR Karl Gajdusek's new play deals with two San Francisco couples whose lives overlap as they deal with addiction, temptation, and realization.  Mary (Alice Dodd) and David (Ron Morehouse) live in the shadow of a mountain of boxes belonging to Mary's deceased mother, who was violently abused by her husband. David's high school buddy Richard (David Wilcox) and his wife Sylvia (Amanda Street) experiment with designer drugs, frequent clubs, and engage in cyber sex.  When Mary becomes a victim of violence while taking a walk, she becomes hell bent on fighting back and joins a boxing gym where she is trained by D.C. (Richard Werner).  As Mary and David's marriage falls apart, David, chasing youth and excitement, becomes enmeshed in the lives of Richard and Sylvia, sinking into their drug-addled lifestyle.  Director Larissa Kokernot employs projections creatively, but she fails to get much emotion from her cast and certain choices, such as on-stage costume changes and a naturalistic cooking scene, are more confusing than anything.  Despite the accomplishments and lengthy resumes of the playwright, director and cast, the play's characters, relationships and scenarios just don't sing, leaving the audience with a cocktail of ideas and images that remains beyond recognition. Theater of NOTE, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through May 30.  (323) 856-8611. www.theatreofnote.com.  (Mayank Keshaviah)


Fubar Photo by Darrett Sanders

THE HIGH Teen-drama parody, "from OMG to LOL.". ComedySportz, 8033 Sunset Blvd., L.A.; Fri., 10:30 p.m.. (323) 871-1193.

GOHOWLIN' BLUES AND DIRTY DOGS The spirit of the blues pulsates resoundingly throughout this stirring musical based on the life of feisty, soulful singer Big Mama Thornton. The strengths in class-act vocalist Barbara Morrison's performance lie not in her effort to re-create the historical woman but in her expressionistic portrayal of this talented but troubled figure's essence, captured in Morrison's earthy, heartrending vocals. Carla DuPree Clark directs a top-notch supporting ensemble, and the music is simply topflight. (DK). Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., May 16, 8 p.m.; thru May 16. (310) 462-1439.

THE INTERNATIONALISTS The race to outer space told through "movement, live music, sound and meta-theatrical performance." Conceived and directed by Jesse Bonnell, artistic director of Poor Dog Group. PDG Performance Warehouse, 2485 Hunter St., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru May 9, www.poordoggroup.com...

L.A. VIEWS II: TALES OF PRESENT PAST A hundred years ago the Alexandria Hotel in downtown L.A. played glamorous host to presidents and movie stars; now faded, it's home to the Equity-waiver Company of Angels. Their current offering -- 15 short plays and/or monologues written and directed by company members -- takes the hotel as a common thread, claiming inspiration from the silent screen luminaries who once graced its corridors. In fact, the link between the material and the concept is mostly tangential. Crisply introduced by bellhops Juanita Chase and Joshua Lamont, the show opens with a promise that unfortunately wanes. The pieces, a hodgepodge of lightweight segments set in both past and present, offers some biographical information but doesn't provide much revelation or insight (The dead celebs are talked about but not depicted). Closeted homosexuality is a recurring, though not exclusive, theme. In "Weekend Getaway," by S. Vasanti Saxena, directed by Tony Gatto, two married celebrities (Brian Rohan and Onyay Pheori) bicker incessantly between photo ops; we soon learn they're both gay. In Kyle T. Wilson's El Conquistador," directed by Lui Sanchez, the spirit of Ramon Navarro hovers over an encounter in a contemporary gay bar between two friends (Eric Martig and Maurice Compte), climaxing in a proposal of marriage (indignantly rejected). In "Fresh Cream Pie," by Damon Chua, directed by Gatto, two heterosexual security guards (Mel Rodriguez and Xavi Moreno) share their sexual fantasies, one of which involves a cream pie. Overall, this showcase fare, is mildly entertaining, with some performers, including Chase, Lamont and Rodriguez, displaying assurance. (DK) Alexandria Hotel, 501 S. Spring St., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 & 7 p.m.; thru May 10. (323) 883-1717. A Company of Angels Production

LUMINOUS BIRCH: AND THE SPLENDOR OF THE COLORLESS LIGHT OF EMPTINESS Ever since the days of Artaud, the seemingly irreconcilable ontological differences between the live stage and the motion picture have led to an uneasy truce that can be expressed roughly as, "render unto cinema the things which are cinema's . . . and let theater do the rest." Writer-director Randy Sean Schulman is having none of that. In this deeply personal, solo-performance work (co-directed by Jane McEneaney), Schulman attempts an audacious shotgun marriage of the two media by interacting with a screening of his own, fully realized, widescreen version of a Mack Sennett-styled silent film. Sort of a cryptic, Hegelian meditation on time, mortality and the transcendent power of love, the piece opens onscreen with the Chaplinesque castaway, Luminous Birch (Schulman), separated from his true love, Tangerine (Delcie Adams), by a sea mishap. Birch, who literally climbs out of the onscreen pantomime into the theater, can only impotently prowl the stage as Tangerine is harried by the nefarious Absurd Conquistador (Roy Johns) in the movie. Unfortunately, despite lush production values (John Burton's set, Cameron Lowe's cinematography and Ingrid Ferrin's costumes are all outstanding), even Schulman's seductive stage alchemy can't make oil and water mix. The filmed spectacle so overshadows its live counterpart that the formal tensions upon which Schulman relies to make sense of the proceedings are all but lost. (BR) Greenway Court Theater, 544 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m.; thru May 10. (323) 655-7679.

MEASURE FOR MEASURE Write Act Repertory re-imagines Shakespeare's play. Write Act Theater, 6128 Yucca St., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru May 23. (323) 469-3113.

GO MUNCHED Katie Paxton's two older sisters died before she was born. When she became deathly ill, the nurses and the law were convinced that her mother Marybeth (Andrea Hutchman) was killing her slowly in a sordid, attention-seeking case of Munchhausen by Proxy. Marybeth went to prison; Katie (Samantha Sloyan) recovered immediately and went into the foster system. Kim Porter's spellbinding and intimate play catches up with the Paxtons 20-years later when Katie finds a Pandora's box of letters, from her mom and to her mom, in her foster mother's attic. We're never sure if Marybeth is guilty, though she admits to giving her daughter a poisonous dose of ipecac. But what is clear is that mother and daughter share the same DNA -- both face the world with a bitter humor, Katie joking wryly about wrenching trauma, and Marybeth channeling her self-righteous anger into a sarcasm as sharp as a knife. Sloyan and Hutchman turn in two of the best performances I've seen all year. Aided by Duane Daniels' direction, they make comic agony out of deliberate pauses and askance smiles. Shirley Jordan and Peter Breitmayer are quite fine as a whirlwind of nurses, doctors, lawyers and do-gooders, each with their own agenda, and unable to see the facts of Marybeth's actions through their certainty of her psychosis or martyrdom. (AN) El Centro Theatre, 804 N. El Centro Ave., Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru May 30. (323) 960-5771.

OCHRE & ONYX: THE LANGSTON HUGHES PROJECT Lynn Manning's celebration of the Harlem Renissance writer. Los Angeles Design Center, 5955 S. Western Ave., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru May 31. (323) 599-0811.

GO PHOTOGRAPH 51 This West Coast premiere of Anna Ziegler's powerful yet subtle play, Photograph 51, concerns Rosalind Franklin, the scientist who was instrumental in the discovery of the structure of DNA. Set against Travis Gale Lewis' cleverly accretive set and illuminated by Kathi O'Donohue's complex and variegated lighting, the play takes us into a seminal period in biophysics. No sooner are we introduced to Rosalind (Aria Alpert), her colleague Dr. Wilkins (Daniel Billet), and her graduate assistant Maurice Gosling (Graham Norris) than Rosalind declares in no uncertain terms, "Dr. Wilkins, I don't do jokes. I do science." Her confidence and professionalism leads to an uncomfortable friction with Wilkins and the rest of the chauvinistic male scientific establishment, including Watson (Ian Gould) and Crick (Kerby Joe Grubb), who are simultaneously in search of the genetic blueprint. While Rosalind remains the consummate professional, even cold at times, she does reveal slivers of her inner life through correspondence with American scientist Don Casper (Ross Hellwig). As each side gets closer to the genetic blueprint, one of Rosalind's photographs ends up becoming crucial to unlocking the mystery. Director Simon Levy efficiently orchestrates the manipulation of time and space, turning vast leaps into imperceptible segues, and inspiring powerful performances from his actors. The entire cast sparkles behind Alpert, whose portrayal of Rosalind's ruthless efficiency, biting wit, and deep pain is a tour de force that brings to mind Meryl Streep's take on Anna Wintour. This tribute to a woman who helped crack the Pyrex ceiling reminds us of the need to reexamine "his"tory, and should not be missed. (MK)The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through May 31. (323) 663-1525.

PLAY WITH A KNIFE Zach Fehst's existential take on murder. Stages Theatre Center, 1540 N. McCadden Pl., L.A.; Sat.-Sun., 8 p.m.; thru May 31. (323) 960-7784.

GOPOINT BREAK LIVE! Jaime Keeling's 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. It's damn good fun, cleverly staged by directors Eve Hars, Thomas Blake and George Spielvogel. (LE3). Dragonfly, 6510 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Fri., 8:30 p.m.; Sat., 8 p.m.. (866) 811-4111.

NEW REVIEW THE REAL THING "Loving and being loved is so illiterate," sighs playwright Henry (Jay Huguley) in Tom Stoppard's dramedy about commitment to your amour and emotions. Henry boasts that he's too superior to feel jealousy; his confusion at being cuckolded is channeled into his brilliant, but bourgeois living room dramas, which -- like him -- risk sounding flip. He's frustrated with drafting an earnest love story for his new actress wife (Susan Duerden), and Stoppard's self-aware digressions feel like the author's apologia for any potential weaknesses. Luckily, such meanderings are few. Before long, Henry's loudmouthed cynicism eases into a convincing case that he's the last romantic in England. The brittle wit of the first act softens after intermission when a tenderized Henry offers his definition of fidelity. However, to breathe, these observations need a light, deft touch. Instead director Allen Barton instead cranks up the emotionalism, even ending several scenes in a deafening climax of screams and music. Whatever Huguley is bellowing at the ceiling is drowned out in the fury, a misstep for a play that worships the power of words. Skylight Theater, 1816 1/2 N. Vermont Ave., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru June 7. (323) 960-7861. A Katselas Company production (Amy Nicholson)


The Real Thing Photo by Ed Krieger
 



















RICHARD III REDUX: OUR RADICAL ADAPTATION The Veterans Center for the Performing Arts mashes up Shakespeare's Richard III and Henry VI, Part 3 as a study of post-traumatic stress disorder. Mortise & Tenon Furniture Store, Second Floor, 446 S. La Brea Ave., L.A.; Mon., Sun., 8 p.m.; thru June 8. (888) 398-9348.

NEW REVIEW R.U.R. Czech playwright Karel Capek's 1921 sci-fi horror-show is about people's desire to outsource drudge labor to robots, which are created (birthed in test tubes) by the thousands in a factory where the play transpires.  A woman named Helena Glory crosses the ocean to defend the rights of robots in a satire of the early trade union movement. On the Island of Rossum (reason), which houses the factory, she meets and eventually marries the factory's general manager, Harry Domin (Jamil Chokachi). That the robots don't feel anything, and that the humans can benefit from so much leisure time, i.e. unemployment, is an early 20th century glimpse into precisely the gaffes of economic logic that have landed us in the mire of the early 21st century: If people aren't employed, how exactly are they supposed to buy the things that the cheap and/or outsourced labor produces? The other side of the play's equation points to the slippery grip we have on what it means to be human. Adapter Tiger Reel directs a large ensemble, and stages the play on his and Tom Metcalf's set that features a pair of large screens that mask, translucently, bubbling gelatinous blobs - future workers in a kind of uterus, blood surging, muscles being formed - Frankenstein-like. The intrusions of one scientist lead to more "perfect" robots  with emotions, which means they finally realize their oppression, and they rise into revolution, turning against their creators. The large ensemble is mostly fine, but Reel has a better eye than ear. When the melodrama of the robot takeover kicks in, it's hard to discern whether or not the hand-wringing tone is a parody or merely overwrought. When the humans jump around robotically, Reel scores points for concept, but loses points for the emotional ligaments of storytelling. Chokachi's Harry Domin was so intense, screaming a good many of his lines, he had me rooting for the robots. At least the machines are comparatively quiet, and they don't overact. Particularly deft performances by Tee Williams, Vera Miao and Jennifer Gabbert.  Art/Works Theatre, 6569 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; added perf Sun., May 10, 6 p.m.; through May 16. (323) 908-7276. (Steven Leigh Morris) 

R.U.R. Photo by John Dlugolecki

SEX, RELATIONSHIPS, AND SOMETIMES ... LOVE Monologues on all of the above, by Joelle Arqueros. Actor's Playpen, 1514 N. Gardner St., L.A.; Sun., 7 & 9 p.m.; thru May 10. (310) 226-6148.

THE SHAPE OF THINGS Explore art, psychopathy, love and intimacy in Neil LaBute's drama centering on the lives of four young students who become emotionally and romantically involved with each other. L.A. Fringe Theatre, 929 E. Second St., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru May 23. (213) 680-0392.

SOMEONE ELSE'S LOSS IS MY CHOCOLATY GOODNESS! This is a six-piece assortment of new, short plays from Padraic Duffy, Joshua Fardon, Carey Friedman, Nova Jacobs, David LM McIntyre and Tommy Smith, punctuated by a free chocolate treat and a drawing for more chocolate after each of the performances. Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 11 p.m.; thru May 30. (323) 856-8611.

GO STICK FLY Lydia R. Diamond's scintillating comedy is set in the elegant and expensive summer home (gorgeously designed by John Iacovelli) of Dr. Joseph Levay (John Wesley), in an elite, African-American enclave of Martha's Vineyard. The family is arriving for the weekend, and son Flip (Terrell Tilford), a successful plastic surgeon, is bringing his white fiancée Kimber (Avery Clyde) to meet the family. Writer son Kent (Chris Butler) also brings his bride-to be, Taylor (Michole Briana White), who comes from a lower rung on the social ladder. At first all is banter, horse-play and fun, but gradually fracture lines appear. Despite their wealth and privilege, the Levays are not immune to the stresses and prejudices of snobbery, race and class, conflicts between fathers and sons, and brotherly rivalries. Mom hasn't turned up for the family gathering, and secrets about sexual hanky-pank lurk beneath the surface, waiting to erupt. Meanwhile, young substitute maid-housekeeper Cheryl (Tinashe Kajese) is seriously upset about something. Diamond's play combines complex characters, provocative situations, and literate, funny dialog in this delicious comedy of contemporary manners. Director Shirley Joe Finney reveals a sharp eye for social nuance, and melds her dream cast into a brilliantly seamless ensemble. They are all terrific. (NW) The Matrix Theatre Company, 7657 Melrose Avenue, L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m., thru May 31. (323) 960-7740.

13 BY SHANLEY FESTIVAL Seven full-length plays and six one-acts by John Patrick Shanley. (Weekly schedule alternates; call for info.). Theatre 68, 5419 Sunset Blvd., L.A.; Tues.-Fri., Sun., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.; thru May 24. (323) 960-7827.

TNA ONESIES: THE FUTURE? The Next Arena's fourth annual comedy one-act festival. Lounge Theatre, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru May 23. (323) 960-5774.

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.

GO VOICE LESSONS Justin Tanner's very funny sitcom shoots darts at a trio of characters who are tied to the dart board by their transparent lunacies and hubris, which makes it an exercise in almost pointless cruelty, though the broadness of Bart DeLorenzo's staging may have contributed to the sense of this Punch & Judy Show masquerading as a satire. In earlier plays, like Pot Mom, Tanner stumbled onto an insight that unearthed the unseen side of a stereotype. His skills at structure, one-liners and caricature are so sharply honed, his persisting challenge is finding something worth saying. Tanner's parody is directed at the vicious and deluded vanity of a hopelessly obviously talentless and aging pop singer, Virginia (Laurie Metcalf), trying to claw her way to TV fame. Can a target get any easier? She cements her ambitions to a voice teacher, Nate (French Stewart), whose initial mask of respectability and ethics slithers down the greasy pole of his own personal desperation. Maile Flanagan further inflates the farce, portraying Nate's zaftig live-in girlfriend, setting up a catfight over the forlorn and increasingly sleazy teacher. For all its petulant ambitions, the evening is wildly entertaining thanks to the irrepressible talents of the cast. It's hard to see how this play would survive without these actors. With a deep and slightly nasal voice, and deadpan responses that should be copyrighted for the mountain of silent thoughts they reveal, Stewart provides the perfect foil for Metcalf's meticulously executed tornado of psychosis and Flanagan's lovely cameo. DeLorenzo deserves credit for the comedy's sculpted timing, and Gary Guidinger's set and lighting depicts with realistic detail the frayed fortress of Nate's living room. (SLM) Zephyr Theater, 7456 Melrose Ave., Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through May 17. (323) 960-7711.

VOX HUMANA PRESENTS "LITTLE THEATER" Overtones by Alice Gerstenberg, Trifles by Susan Glaspell, The Rope by Eugene O'Neill. Hollywood Court Theatre, Hollywood United Methodist Church, 6817 Franklin Ave., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 & 7 p.m.; thru May 10. (323) 769-5794.

CONTINUING PERFORMANCES IN SMALLER THEATERS SITUATED IN THE VALLEYS

AND THE WINNER IS Mitch Albom's tale of an actor desperately trying to get to the Oscars. Stillspeaking Theatre, 2560 Huntington Dr., San Marino; Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru May 24. (626) 292-2081.

BEST WISHES The untimely death of a matriarch occasions a reunion of disaffected siblings in Bill Barker's family comedy, first presented locally in 1984. Del Shores used a similar scenario, with more comedic panache in his Daddy's Dyin, Who's got the Will. A comfortable house in tiny Liberal, Kansas becomes a battleground when Elda (Joanne McGee), Crystal (Nadya Starr), Dorie (Carol Jones), Vera (Ann Bronston), Gil (Dana Craig) and Denny (Barker) assemble to bury their mother and settle the estate. It isn't long before familial fault-lines emerge. Dorie, always the dutiful daughter, is bitter about her vacuous life and wears her feelings on her sleeve. She constantly clashes with Vera, who has escaped small-town anonymity and boredom for the big city, but is a drinker and party girl. Wife and mother Elda is a good natured pleaser, but a dingbat, and Crystal remains an emotional and psychological mystery. There are stabs at humor and lots of squabbling, much of it mundane and pointless. This may be the point, but still . . . Either the play, or Hollace Star's staging of this revival, fails to say much incisive about these characters or make them emotionally accessible. Gil and Denny emerge as ciphers, and only Fanny (Peggy Lord Chilton), the town quid nunc, is consistently engaging. (LE3) Crown City Theater on the campus of St. Matthew's Church; 11031 Camarillo St., North Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through May 10. (818) 745-8527

GO THE BIRD AND MR. BANKS Alternately ghoulish and sweet, playwright Kevin Huff's darkly ironic tale is a pleasingly twisted mix of romance and Grand Guignol horror. After she's dumped by her louse-lover boss (Chet Grissom), corporate secretary Annie (Jenny Kern) tries to kill herself. She receives emotional support from a co-worker - the soft spoken, eerily staring accountant, Mr. Banks (Sam Anderson), whom the other folks in the office have long considered slightly creepy. After she moves into Mr. Banks' sprawling, dusty house, Annie discovers that the co-workers don't know the half of it. Still attached by a cast iron Oedipal apron string to parents long since dead, Banks has furnished the home in a dusty style that can charitably be called "Norman Bates Modern." When Annie's boss stops by and attempts to rape her, Banks pulls out a cudgel and events take a gruesome turn. Although the plot slightly bogs down during a needlessly long Act Two road trip, Huff's writing is otherwise smartly edgy, full of vituperative charm. Director Mark St. Amant's comedically tight production punches the weird, Addams Family tone with brio, nicely balancing horror with genuine sympathy for the characters. From his deep, soft, insanity-steeped voice to his shambolic gait and his half baked "drunk crazy uncle" stage persona, Anderson's turn as the crazed killer-accountant is utterly compelling. (PB) Lankershim Arts Center, 5108 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through May 16. (866) 811-4111. Road Theater Production.

GO CAPTAIN DAN DIXON VS. THE MOTH SLUTS FROM THE FIFTH DIMENSON The Magellan spaceship has a conservative crew onboard, but Captain Dan Dixon (Matthew Sklar) and the rest of his men can't resist the Vulvulans <0x2014> green, pasties-clad go-go dancers with pneumatic exoskeletons. Playwright Sklar and director Zombie Joe know the heart of their show beats near the Vulvulans' gyrating curves, but they've generously gone on and given us sharp comic timing and even a half-serious philosophical theme. (AN). ZJU Theater Group, 4850 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8:30 p.m.; thru May 16. (818) 202-4120.

NEW REVIEW THE CATERER "A guy who's dying jumps off a cliff. On his way down, a sniper puts a bullet through his head. Who killed him?" It's the kind of intellectual conundrum that's posed in late-night college dorms, among philosophy majors, and in writer-director Brian Alan Lane's meandering, stylishly perplexing play. The title character is Oliver Mestman (LeVar Burton), who offers his customers "an appropriate death," i.e., a demise that's a victory, not a surrender. His client is a computer-game creator named Stan Guest (James Hiroyuki Liao), doomed to die of Mad Cow Disease. He's apparently prepared to pay $10 mil for a "good" death, which Oliver delivers via a polonium-laced drink. The play never offers us solid moorings. Oliver sometimes seems to have supernatural powers, and at others he's an ordinary mortal with a messy life. He spouts aphoristic lines that sound clever but ultimately don't seem to mean much, though some are good one-liners. As the saying goes, There's less to this than meets the eye. As director, Lane provides a slickly elegant production on a clever black-and-white set by Adam Rowe, and the cast is terrific, with fine performances by Burton, Liao, Cynthia Watros, Angelle Brooks, and Buddy MacKinder. The Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 3 & 8 p.m., thru May 10. (323) 960-7724. (Neal Weaver)


The Caterer Photo by Ricahrd J. Lee

NEW REVIEW GO THE COLUMBINE PROJECT Marking its 10th anniversary, writer-director Paul Storiale's involving play explores the personalities and circumstances surrounding the Columbine high school massacre  of April 20, 1999.  After planting bombs, which fortunately did not detonate, two teenagers, Eric Harris (Artie Ahr) and Dylan Klebold (Justin Mortelliti)  shot and killed 12 other students and a teacher, then turned their guns on themselves  Unveiling the story in non-sequential scenes,  the script recreates the elements of the tragedy. Portraying not only the relationship between the perpetrators  and their prior disturbed behavior (Harris laid  out their plans on his website but they were never taken seriously), it also spotlights their devastated parents and some of the innocent victims.  Among them was Rachel Scott (Rya Meyers), a popular girl and self-identified Christian who went out of her way to befriend the outcasts within the school body, where anyone who wasn't a jock was ridiculed.  Transcending melodrama, the play delivers a nuanced account of the whole horrific event. Portraying the banality of evil is not easy, and Ahr does a scrupulous job imparting layers to the menacing Harris.  Mortelliti  communicates Klebold's precarious volatility, while Meyers, sweet without being saccharine, exudes a lovely presence.  Other strong performances include Kelli Joan Bennett as Harris's mom, crushed with remorse, and Marquerite Wiseman as another grief-stricken parent.  Production values are minimal but this is one of those barebones productions in which the drama needs no further embellishment. Avery Schreiber Theater, 11050 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.;  Sun, May 12, 7 p.m. thru May 16. (818) 766-9100. (Deborah Klugman)


The Columbine Project Photo by Justin Schwan

 

  
 

GO DRACULA Director Ken Sawyer, who recently helmed the delightful Lovelace: A Rock Opera at the Hayworth, has scored again with this stylish adaptation of Bram Stoker's vampire tale. Co-writers Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston's liberties they take on the story in now way diminish the quality of the production. Robert Arbogast is splendid as the creepy count, first seen rising from his grave to put the bite on the lovely Mina (Mara Marini), upon his arrival in England. When Lucy Seward (Darcy Jo Martin), contacts a mysterious illness, her mother, Lily (Karesa McElheny), who runs an asylum, enlists the expertise of Abraham Van Helsing (Joe Hart) to find a cure. Thrown into the mix are Lucy's betrothed Jonathan Harker (J.R. Mangels) and the mad, bug-eating Renfield (Alex Robert Holmes). This one's all about atmosphere. Desma Murphy's alluring set design is cleverly accented by an enormous backdrop of an incubus sitting on a sleeping woman, inspired by Henry Fuseli's painting "The Nightmare." Luke Moyer's lighting schema is perfectly conceived. Sawyer uses an arsenal of haunted house special effects here, including lots of rolling fog and wolf howls, but they never come across as cheesy or overdone; and there are a few scary moments during this 90-minute show, amidst the well-placed humor. (LE3) NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd.; N. Hlwyd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through May 17. (818) 508-7101.

GOTHMAS Kerr Seth Lordygan and Laura Lee Bahr's goth (or really, nu metal) musical opens on Halloween when depressive Helena (Bahr) slits her wrists. The debut production itself would benefit from its own cruel cuts. At its black, festering, wonderful heart, Gothmas is a love triangle between self-absorbed best frenemy roommates -- hetero Helena, gay Garth (Lordygan) and their selfish bisexual hustler lover Joe (Kadyr Gutierrez, who capitalizes on the duo's need for freakdom by suggesting they share him. Clocking in at three-hours, this bleak charm of this 12-member ensemble's behemoth would be better served if every element were chopped in half. There's a fantastic piece buried in here, especially once director Justin T. Bowler doubles the cast's narcissism and hysteria, which would help the play find consistent footing between songs that ache with betrayal and ones that sting with unrepentant, grim glee. (And once Joel Rieck's choreography eases away from the literal -- when Helena sings she's got "nothing to lose, nothing to grab," the entire cast clutches at the air.) This run is worth seeing, however, as a midnight cult fave-in-process with some inspired axe murders. (AN) Eclectic Company Theatre, 5312 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Valley Village; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru May 17. (323) 960-7712.

THE LAST HIPPIE: A WESTERN NOVEL Performer-designer Vincent Mann's claims that his solo show (directed by Rachel Rebecca Roy) "began as an (almost) finished novel." Those origins are clear in his epic, autobiographical performance, that runs over two-hours with intermission. Mann's saga starts during his youth in mid-'70s San Antonio Texas, centering on his and his high school pals' magnetic attraction to mind-altering drugs and the personal-metaphysical explorations that were part and parcel of the Hippie movement, which was fading even then, in the wake of the subsequent pre-Reagan, greed-is-good generation. Among the performance's many virtues are ability to take a personal story and attach it to the sensibility of an era - and Mann accomplishes this with erudition and literacy. Eventually, as his friends fall by the wayside, he flees his town on a kind of spiritual quest from Texas to Colorado Springs, working as a janitor for minimum wage. Here, the Quixotic essence of the Hippies' scrambled ideals, and Mann's stake in those ideals - including enlightenment through hallucinagenic drugs - unravels into mere autobiography, a stream of events that represent little beyond themselves. (SLM) Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; Tues., 8 p.m.; through May 12. (818) 783-6784.

MR. MARMALADE Noah Haidle's black comedy about a 4-year-old girl's imaginary friend, a combative, cocaine-fueled porn addict. Two Roads Theater, 4348 Tujunga Ave., Studio City; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru May 17. (800) 838-3006.

NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY Detective chases serial killer in this musical adaptation of William Goldman's novel. Book, music and lyrics by Douglas J. Cohen. Colony Theatre, 555 N. Third St., Toluca Lake; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.; thru May 17. (818) 558-7000.

NOSTALGIA AND DREAMS White Buffalo Theatre Company presents Brett Holland's poetic drama. Deaf West Theatre, 5112 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru May 24. (818) 569-3037.

SONG OF ST. TESS Chris Collins' tragedy about a San Francisco divorc<0x00E9>e. Secret Rose Theater, 11246 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru May 10. (323) 960-7735.

TEN TO LIFE As Lodestone Theatre Ensemble prepares to close its doors after 10 years, it will present four one-acts from veteran writers of its own ranks (Nic Cha Kim, Annette Lee, Tim Lounibos, and Judy Soo Hoo). GTC Burbank, 1111-B W. Olive Ave., Toluca Lake; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru June 7. (818) 238-9998.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK Stephen Mallatratt's ghost story, adapted from the novel by Susan Hill. Whitefire Theater, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; Wed., 8 p.m.; thru May 13. (866) 262-6253.

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's comedy classic about a kooky clan. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m.; thru June 6. (626) 256-3809.

CONTINUING PERFORMANCES IN SMALLER THEATERS SITUATED ON THE WESTSIDE AND IN BEACH TOWNS

THE ACCOMPLICES Bernard Weinraub's documentary drama about an activist's efforts to rescue Jews from Nazi-occupied Europe. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru June 14. (310) 477-2055.

AND THE WAR CAME Through a collage of interwoven sketches and onscreen projections, director Joanne Gordon, nine writers and a fine ensemble attempt to convey a sense of the sometimes whimsical but usually tragic experiences of those touched by the Iraq War. All too often, however, the narratives simply get tangled in Gordon's overly elliptical structure and taste for the maudlin. And would it really have been a disservice to veterans for Gordon to have included some antiwar voices or, God forbid, those of the Iraqis themselves? (BR). National Guard Armory, 854 E. Seventh St., Long Beach; Through May 9, 8 p.m.. (562) 985-5526.

APPLE Emotional bonfires crackle around the infidelity of an ordinary, married guy, Andy (Albie Selznick), with a beautiful woman, Samatha (Carmit Levité), who just happens to be a medical technician whom Andy's wife, Evelyn (Ellyn Stern), sees frequently during her breast-cancer diagnoses and treatments. Evelyn is dying, there's no question, and her philandering husband lies stretched on a rack of grief and self-loathing - careening between his physical passion for his healthy mistress and his torment as a care-taker for his fading wife. Does his expressed adoration of his spouse stem from something larger than guilt and self-recrimination? "I'm rotten," he confesses to her. She knows what's going on, and thank goodness she's no peach herself. Foul-mouthed and sometimes petulant, she reveals a mean-streak, telling hubbie that she never loved him. That could be true, but it's more likely to be the only kind of revenge she can inflict. The larger question explored in Canadian Vern Thiessen's absorbing play hangs in the murky territory between lust and love, and Rachel Goldberg's wisely abstracted and seductive production tries to clarify that distinction, despite stretches of gratuitous poetical narration that tilt the tone towards the mawkish. Jeff G. Rack's park bench set and the projected images of Benjamin Goldman's animation design contribute to the sense of a poem in motion. On opening night, the ensemble was just starting to find the play's unspoken truths, and will doubtless unearth more through the production's run. Levité's smart, charming mistress finds herself smitten with Andy for reasons still vague, though in one scene at the clinic, her defiant defense of Evelyn's wishes, overriding Andy's will, could be a kind of punishment of him. Stern's ill Evelyn is further along, handily negotiating cross currents of wisdom and peevishness, while Selznick nicely handles Andy's sometimes cloying yet convincing earnestness and he tries to man up. The production invites no easy moralizing, though there is the suggestion that the vow "till death do us part" probably shouldn't be rushed along - the parting or the dying. (SLM) Theatre 40, 241 Moreno Dr. (on the Beverly Hills High School Campus), Beverly Hills; in rep, call for schedule; through May 24. (310) 364-0535.

BETRAYAL Harold Pinter's bizarre love triangle. Little Fish Theatre, 777 Centre St., San Pedro; Wed.-Thurs., 8 p.m.; thru May 14. (310) 512-6030.

GO THE BOURGEOIS GENTILHOMME You'd think, from reading the world press, that racism and, by extension, classism, had suddenly been vanquished from the nation - overnight, by a stunning national election. Such is the power of symbolism and hope. Sooner or later, we will settle into a more realistic view of who we are, and were, and how we have evolved in ways perhaps more subtle than the current "we are the world" emotional gush would lead one to believe. It's in this more self-critical (rather than celebratory) frame of mind that Molière's 1670 comedy - a satire of snobbery and social climbing - will find its relevance renewed. For now, however, Frederique Michel (who directed the play) and Charles Duncombe's fresh and bawdy translation-adaptation serves up a bouquet of comedic delights that offer the caution that -- though celebrating a milestone on the path of social opportunity is worthy of many tears of joy -- perhaps we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves with self-congratulation. The Bourgeois Gentleman was first presented the year after Tartuffe, and it contains many of the hallmarks of its more famous cousin: a deluded and pompous protagonist (Jeff Atik); a con man (Troy Dunn) aiming for social advancement by speculating on the blind arrogance of his patron; and the imposition of an arranged marriage, by the insane master of the house, for his crest-fallen daughter (Alisha Nichols). The play was originally written as a ballet-farce, for which composer Jean-Baptiste Lully performed in the production before the court of Louis XIV. Michel's visually opulent staging features scenery (designed by Duncombe) that includes a pair of chandeliers, and costumes (by Josephine Poinsot) in shades of red, maroon and black. Michel employs Lully's music in a nod to the original. (The singing is far too thin even to support the jokes about its competence.) Michel also includes a lovely ballet by performers in mesmerizing "tears of a clown" masks, a choreographed prance of the fops, and she has characters bounding and spinning during otherwise realistic conversations, in order to mock style over substance. Comedy has a maximum refrigeration temperature of 75 degrees, and when that temperature was exceeded during Act 1 on the performance I attended, the humor ran off the tracks - despite the broad style being sustained with conviction by the performers. By Act 2, the heat problem had been remedied and the comedy started playing again as it should. In fact, I haven't seen a comic tour de force the likes of Atik's Monseiur Jordain since Alan Bomenfeld's King Ubu at A Noise Within. As Jourdain is trying to woo a countess (the striking Deborah Knox), Atik plays him attired in silks and bows of Ottoman extravagance, with a blissfully stupid expression - every dart of his eyes reveals Jordain's smug self-satisfaction that's embedded with delirious ignorance. (SLM) City Garage, 1340½ (alley) Fourth Street, Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 5:30 p.m.; through May 8. (310) 319-9939.

BURN THIS Lanford Wilson's drama about four New Yorkers and a funeral is a slippery portrait of love and loss. Staged with a warm cast, it's flush with hope; just as easily, though, a more aloof ensemble can flip it into a play about emotional isolation where the polite relationship between Anna (Marisa Petroro) and perfect-on-paper boyfriend Burton (Jonathan Blandino) casts a cold shadow across all dynamics, making her devotion to callously funny roomate Larry (Aaron Misakian) and temperamental lover Pale (a wrenching and infuriating Dominic Comperatore) seem nearly like pathological self-punishment. Director John Ruskin sees this as a love story -- the scene breaks twinkle with sentimental music -- however his cast isn't up to it and hasn't even been instructed to at least pretend to be listening to each other. (Burton's confession of a random blowjob from a strange man rolls off Anna like he was droning on about the weather.) Comperatore's combustible Pale has four times the spark of the rest of the ensemble -- when he bursts into the scene, we see the gulf between what Wilson's play could be and what this staging actually is. (AN) Ruskin Group Theater, 3000 Airport Dr., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through May 9. (310) 397-3244.

CINDERELLA: THE MUSICAL Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie's family-friendly fairy tale. (Resv. required.). Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 Fourth St., Santa Monica; Sat.-Sun., 12:30 & 3 p.m.; thru Dec. 27. (310) 394-9779.

GO DESPERATE WRITERS: THE FINAL DRAFT This demented farce by Joshua Grenrock and Catherine Schreiber should be catnip for those who love Hollywood in-jokes. Ashley (Kate Hollingshead) and David (Brian Krause) are lovers and writing partners; though they've been writing for years, they've never sold a script. Ashley's convinced that producers never actually read their scripts, so she kidnaps three of them (writers Grenrock and Schreiber, and Andrew Ross Wynn) at gunpoint, locking them in a wire cage in her living room (built before our eyes by trusty techies). She prepares a gourmet meal for the producers, while David reads to them -- despite their protests -- a new script. The reading is punctuated by phone calls from agent Vanessa (Jennifer Taub), a death by apoplectic fit, an earthquake, a resurrection, and a home invasion by a pair of robbers (Scott Damian and Stephen Grove Malloy) who drop off their pix and resumes on their way out. And, oh, yes, the rental agent (Vivian Bang) arrives to show the house to prospective tenants (Damian and Eden Malyn). The actors are game and skillful, and director Kay Cole keeps the action spinning along on Francoise-Pierre Couture's set, cleverly designed as an architect's blueprint. (NW) Edgemar Center for the Arts, 2437 Main St., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 2 & 7 p.m., thru May 10. 1(800) 838-3006 or http://desperatewriters.com.

DID YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK? Writer/performer Aaron Braxton has passion and talent - both amply evident in this promising work-in-progress about the difficulties of teaching in the urban classroom. A 13-year veteran with L.A. Unified, Braxton builds his piece around his early experience as a substitute teacher filling in for an old-timer - 33 years on the job - who one day ups and quits. A gift for mimicry brings the performer's characters into clear comic focus: himself as the beleaguered Mr. Braxton, several colorful problem students, their even more colorful and problematic parents and another staff member -- a well-meaning elderly bureaucrat in charge of the school's counterproductive testing program. At times Braxton steps away from dramatizing the action to speak to the audience directly about the frustrations of trying to make a difference, contrasting his own upbringing as the son of a teacher, taught to respect education, with the imperviously disdainful attitude of his pupils. He also sings 4 songs, displaying a beautiful voice. The main problem with the piece is its disjointedness and discontinuity; the songs, reflective of Braxton's message, are only tenuously connected to the narrative, itself a patchwork collection of anecdotes juxtaposed against addresses to the audience. This gives the show a hybrid feel - part performance, part moral exposition, part musical showcase. Yet there's plenty of power and potential here. Kathleen Rubin directs. (DK) Beverly Hills Playhouse, 254 S. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; through May 10. (310) 358-9936.

FENCES August Wilson's story of an African-American family's unyielding struggle to overcome the barriers of bigotry in the 1950s. (May 15 show is by invitation.). Morgan-Wixson Theatre, 2627 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru May 30. (310) 828-7519.

FIFTH OF JULY Lanford Wilson's farm-family drama. Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru May 23. (562) 494-1014.
HAY FEVER Noel Coward's 1924 comedy. Little Fish Theatre, 777 Centre St., San Pedro; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., May 17, 7 p.m.; Thurs., May 21, 8 p.m.; thru May 23. (310) 512-6030.

INCORRUPTABLE Michael Hollinger's Dark Ages farce. (In rep with Apple, call for schedule). Theatre 40 at the Reuben Cordova Theater, 241 Moreno Dr., Beverly Hills; Sun., 2 p.m.; Mon.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.; thru May 21. (310) 364-0535.

IS HE DEAD? In the West Coast premiere of a newly discovered comedy by master of American humor Mark Twain, a struggling artist stages his own death to drive up the price of his paintings. International City Theatre, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru May 24. (562) 436-4610.

MADE ME NUCLEAR On March 1, 2006, singer-songwriter Charlie Lustman was informed by his doctor that he had a rare OsteoSarcoma (bone cancer) of the upper jaw. What followed was a grueling and painful siege of therapies, involving radiation injected into his body, surgery removing three quarters of his jawbone, surgical reconstruction, and extensive chemotherapy. When, after two years of treatment, he was declared cancer free, he created this touching 12-song cycle about his experiences. He sings about the bone-numbing shock and terror of being told he had cancer, his fear of death and sense of helplessness, the solace provided him by his loyal wife, his children and his doctors, memory problems caused by his chemo (mercifully temporary), and so on. But the tone is more celebratory than grim: he's determinedly life-affirming, full of hope and gratitude, and his songs are pitched in an intimate, jazzy, bluesy style. He's an engaging and personable performer (thanks in part to his skillful doctors), who brings rueful humor and mischief to a tale that might have been unrelievedly grim. If anything, tries a bit too hard to keep things light. We need a bit of scarifying detail if we're to appreciate his remarkable resilience and optimism. (NW) Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 4th Street, Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., through May 30. (866) 468-3399 or http://www.MadeMeNuclear.com Produced by the Sarcoma Alliance.

A NUMBER Caryl Churchill's meditation on identity. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A.; Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru June 21. (310) 477-2055.

OUR TOWN Thornton Wilder's slice of Americana. Actors' Gang at the Ivy Substation Theater, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru May 30. (310) 838-4264.

PAY ATTENTION: ADHD IN HOLLYWOOD, ON THE ROCKS WITH A TWIST Frank South's hypomanic, alcoholic one-man show tells how a New York waiter/performance artist unleashes all his issues and finds himself capapulted onto the TV-writing fast track. The Other Space at Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 Fourth St., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 6 p.m.; thru June 7. (310) 394-9779.

GO THE SCHOOL FOR WIVES The central character in Molière's comedy, here translated and adapted by Frédérique Michel & Charles Duncombe could be and often is a punching bag. But not here. Arnolphe is another in a stream of Molière's aging, patronizing nitwits (like Orgon on Tartuffe) who presume that they can control the devotions and passions of young women in their care. In Tartuffe, when Orgon's daughter protests his insistence that she break her wedding plans to her beloved suitor in order to marry the clergyman he prefers, Orgon figures her rebellion is just a impetuous, child-like phase. In The School for Wives, there's a similar mind-set to Arnolphe (Bo Roberts), who has tried to sculpt his young ward, Agnes (Jessica Madison), into his future wife. He's known her since she was 4, and he's strategically kept her closeted, as though in a convent, hoping thereby to shape her obedience and gratitude. Just as he's about to wed her, in stumbles young Horace (Dave Mack) from the street below her window, and the youthful pair are smitten with eachother, soon conniving against the old bachelor. Horace, not realizing that Arnolphe is the man keeping Agnes as his imprisoned ward, keeps confiding in the older man about his and Agnes' schemes, fueling Arnolphe's exasperation and fury. Perhaps it's the use of director Michel's tender, Baroque sound-tracks, or the gentle understatement of Roberts' performance and Arnolphe, but the play emerges less as a clown show, and more as a wistful almost elegiac rumination on aging and folly. Arnolphe tried to create a brainless wife as though from a petri dish, an object he can own, and the more she rejects him, the more enamored he becomes of her, until his heart breaks. The pathos is underscored by the obvious intelligence of Madison's Agnes - an intelligence that Arnolphe is blind to. The production's reflective tone supersedes Michel's very stylized, choreographic staging (this company's trademark). The ennui is further supported by a similarly low-key portrayal by David E. Frank as Arnolphe's blithe friend and confidante, Chrysalde. In In fact, when lisping, idiot servants (Cynthia Mance and Ken Rudnicki) keep running in circles and crashing into each other, Michel's one attempt at Commedia physicality is at odds with the production rather than a complement to it. Company costumer Josephine Poinsot (surprising she doesn't work more) provides luscious period vestments and gowns, and Duncombe's delightful production design, includes a gurgling fountain, a tub of white roses, and abstract hints of some elegant, Parisian court. (SLM) City Garage, 1340½ Fourth Street (alley entrance); Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 5:30 p.m.; through May 31. (310) 319-9939.

THEATER SPECIAL EVENTS

BEHIND BARBED WIRE Some 50 teenage actors and writers collaborate with playwright Virginia Grise and bring in their personal experiences to explore issues surrounding immigration. PLAZA DE
LA RAZA, 3540 N. Mission Rd., L.A.; Fri., May 8, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., May 9, 2 p.m.. (323) 223-2475.

CHICKEN PARMIGIANA Tracy Esposito cooks up Italian-American delights in her one-woman comedy. Free chicken parmigiana after the show!. Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., L.A.; Sat., May 9, 8 p.m.; Sun., May 10, 3 p.m.. (818) 623-7022.

CIRCLE X FREE READING SERIES Full schedule at www.circlextheatre.org. Studio/Stage, 520 N. Western Ave., L.A.; Wed., 8 p.m.; thru May 27. (323) 463-3900.

DEBBIE REYNOLDS: AN EVENING OF MUSIC AND COMEDY . El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru May 10. (866) 811-4111.

FRETTED Julio Martinez's solo show about "one man's quest for personal fulfillment while abusing and being abused by love, art and the six-string guitar.". Altadena Junction, 2524 & 2526 El Molino Ave., Altadena; Sat., May 9, 8 p.m.. (626) 791-8586.

LEADS & MISFITS Performance showcase directed by Molly Durand. Lyric Theatre, 520 N. La Brea Ave., L.A.; Tues., May 12, 8 p.m.; May 19-20, 8 p.m., leadsandmisfits@gmail.com. (323) 939-9220.

MOTHER LOVE Concert reading of August Strindberg's play. The Lillian Theatre, 1078 N. Lillian Way, L.A.; Sun., May 10, 1 p.m.. (323) 993-7178.

SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS Communist dancers twirl for your pleasure. Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena; Fri., May 8, 7:30 p.m.; May 9-10, 2 p.m., www.laspectacular.com. (800) 817-7116.

TEA TIME ON BROADWAY Mother's Day tea and tunes with the Los Angeles Jubilee Singers. Playhouse Theatre Players, 600 Moulton Ave., L.A.; Sun., May 10, 3 p.m.. (323) 227-5410.

VICKI LAWRENCE AND MAMA: A TWO-WOMAN SHOW The comedienne shares the bill with her cranky character from The Carol Burnett Show. La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada; Sat., May 9, 2 & 8 p.m.. (562) 944-9801.

WAR OF THE WORLDS/THE LOST WORLD Staged readings of the H.G. Wells and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tales, to be recorded for radio series The Play's the Thing. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Brentwood; May 13-15, 8 p.m.; Sat., May 16, 2:30 p.m.; Sun., May 17, 4 p.m., www.latw.org. (310) 827-0889.