CURRENTLY PLAYING MARCH 19, 2009

Backseats & Bathroom Stalls. Rob Mersola’s late-night farce throws Generation Y Manhattanites – four men, two women – into overlapping hetero and homo matches and mismatches within the sexual trenches, also allowing a few of the characters to despair over the shallowness of it all. It’s brief and fast-paced enough not to wear out its welcome. Lyric Hyperion Theatre, 2106 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake. (323) 960-7829. plays411.com/backseats. Fri.-Sat., 10 p.m. $25-$30. Closes Sat., March 28.

Beggars in the House of Plenty. John Patrick Shanley’s expulsion of his pain over growing up in an unloving Irish American family doesn’t go far beyond refracted therapy, thematically speaking. But Shanley’s style of splintered surrealism hooks our interest, and Larry Moss’ terrific cast seals the deal. Chris Payne Gilbert plays Johnny from age five into young manhood. Jack Conley is a brutal presence as the rock-hard father, with Francesca Casale the brutalized but hardly whimpering mother and David Gail the vulnerable older son. Lena Georgas and Denise Crosby briefly elevate their smaller roles, and the designers create a forbidding hellhouse. Theatre/Theater-Pico, 5041 W. Pico Blvd., L.A. (800) 838-3006. BrownPaperTickets.com. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. $18-$25. Closes Sun., March 29.

The Bird and Mr. Banks. A seemingly drone-like comptroller (Sam Anderson) rescues a co-worker (Jenny Kern) from their lecherous boss (Chet Grissom). The comedy and unexpected horror-genre elements in Keith Huff’s play are dulled by a surfeit of avian imagery and other cloying stabs at excess sentiment. Mark St. Amant directs. Road Theatre, North Hollywood. (866) 811-4111. roadtheatre.org. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. $30. Closes Sat., May 2.

The Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Molière wrote this satire of the nouveaux riches as spoken interludes within a lavish royal ballet. This adaptation by director Frederique Michel and designer Charles Duncombe is on a much smaller scale but retains an elegant look. The laughs don't flow freely until the second act, perhaps because the first scenes focus on the foolish title character's (blissfully goony Jeff Atik) “studies” instead of his and his daughter's love lives. Ruthie Crossley, Troy Dunn, Deborah Knox and others deliver precisely chiseled comic performances. City Garage, Santa Monica. (310) 319-9939. citygarage.org. Fri., 8 p.m. $10-$20. Dark through March 26. Resumes March 27. Closes Fri., May 8. 

Daddy's Dyin', Who's Got the Will? Del Shores' first hit comedy - originally set among white small-town Texans - receives a mostly African American-cast revival, staged by its original producer, Theatre/Theater’s Jeff Murray. The racial transformation is working well, not only in the makeup of the audience but in the ease with which most of the lines are adaptable to African American voices within the same small town. There are two different casts. I saw this show earlier at Theatre/Theater’s Pico Boulevard venue; it had some memorable performances but could have used a tightened pace. Theatre/Theater-Hollywood.  (323) 954-9795. theatretheater.net. Sat., 8.p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. $20-$25. Closes Sun., April 12.

Divorce! The Musical. Erin Kamler’s lively and witty musical focuses most of its arrows on attorneys and other professionals who capitalize on troubled couples. Her splitting-up protagonists, a Brentwood radiologist (Rick Segall) and a would-be actress (Lowe Taylor) are shallow and materialistic. Still, a little more background on their initial attraction might help us care about their fate as they’re buffeted by their attorneys (Gabrielle Wagner, Leslie Stevens) and their mediator (Gregory Franklin). It’s almost an evening of musical sketches instead of a full-fledged narrative, but director Rick Sparks gets maximum mileage from it. Hudson Mainstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 960-1056. DivorceMusical.com. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m. $25-$34.99 Closes Sun., April 26.

Dracula. Ken Sawyer directed The Woman in Black in 2002 – and it was so deliciously scary that it played at two venues for much of the next year. Now he offers a variation of the genre in this lush, lively version of Bram Stoker’s vampire tale, adapting a script from the ‘20s versions by Hamilton Dean and John Balderston. This edition is set in the ‘20s, never leaves England for Transylvania and changes Dr. Seward into a woman (Karesa McElheny). But at its heart is a dashing Dracula (Robert Arbogast), often clad only in black leather pants, and his current love interest Lucy (Darcy Jo Martin). The designers Desma Murphy, Luke Moyer, Paula Higgins and Sawyer (on sound) envelop the audience in spooky sights and noises. NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd., North ollywood.  Hollywood. (818) 508-7101. thenohoartscenter.com. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. $20-$25. Dark April 12. Closes Sun., April 26.

Falling Upward. Ray Bradbury’s comedy, about the men who frequent a small-town Irish bar, dilly-dallies too long, until an amusing story about an inherited wine legacy finally kicks into high gear just before intermission. Then the second act is something else entirely – Mediterranean-style “fairies” invade the bar and establish a kind of amity with the regulars. Tim Byron Owen’s revival features a cast of 24, who occasionally break into Irish music, alternately mournful and rambunctious. Pat Harrington’s genial narrator keeps the disparate parts loosely connected; Mik Scriba plays the bartender who defuses tense situations with offers of free drinks. It makes an interesting St. Patrick’s Month companion to Theatre Tribe’s A Skull in Connemara, in the smaller theater next door. El Portal Theatre, mainstage, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. (866) 811-4111. raybradburysfallingupward.com or plays411.com. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun. 3 p.m. $30-$40. Closes Sun., April 5. 

Film. In 1964, Samuel Beckett (Phil Ward) arrives in New York to monitor the shooting of his experimental short screenplay Film by novice filmmaker Alan Schneider (Bill Robens), a stage director who helped introduce Beckett’s plays to America. At the taciturn Beckett’s suggestion, the great silent film comic Buster Keaton (Carl J. Johnson), now hard-boiled and almost 70, is the star. Playwright Patrick McGowan treats this stellar alignment with winningly whimsical surreality in Trevor Biship’s staging. The focus is split among Keaton’s memories of his own years as an experimental artist (Mandi Moss as the young Keaton), Beckett’s bumbling flirtation with a prop girl (Deana Barone), and Schneider’s exasperation over his inability to master film, in comparison to his rival Mike Nichols (Trevor H. Olsen). Schneider and Nichols become vaudeville partners in Schneider’s dream, and Nichols gets all the laughs. Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N. Cahuenga, Hollywood. (323) 856-8611. theatreofnote.com. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun. 7 p.m.; tonight, Feb. 26, 8 p.m. $18-$22. Closes Sat., March 21.   

Grand Motel. In Michael Sargent’s droll new comedy, the Tennessee Williams-like playwright Cornelius Coffin (Dennis Christopher) retreats to a clothing-optional gay motel in Palm Springs during the premiere of his latest Broadway fiasco. As in the Grand Hotel template, other guests and less welcome intruders pass through, under the fretful eye of the proprietor couple (Craig Johnson, Erik Hanson). Coffin and everyone else are drawn to the naked model (Andy Hopper, almost a Brad Pitt ringer) who’s apparently drifting into oblivion, but Coffin’s female friend (Shannon Holt) has other plans for the playwright before he enters his own coffin.  Sargent’s playful but rueful script and his excellent cast are treated to a deluxe simulation of the tacky milieu by designer Chris Covics. Unknown Theater, 1110 Seward St., Hollywood. (323) 466-7781. unknowntheater.com. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 6 p.m. $18-$24. Closes Sat., March 28. 

Grease. Kathleen Marshall’s revival of the cheesy Jacobs/Casey musical started with a TV reality series that helped pick the cast of the Broadway version. Now the tour continues its relationship with the same genre by casting “American Idol” Taylor Hicks as the Teen Angel, who appears in only one scene, and then giving Hicks a chance to flog his new CD by singing a number after the show itself ends (however, he won’t be there March 18 and 19). With roots like these, what do you expect? It’s a show for TV fans who don’t much like theater. The actual stars are Eric Schneider as Danny and Emily Padgett as Sandy, boldly blazing the path that would be trod in the following century by the couple in High School Musical. Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd. (213) 365-3500. BroadwayLA.org. Today-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; Sun., 1 and 6:30 p.m. $25-$85. Closes Sun., March 22. At Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa, April 28-May 10.

The Increased Difficulty of Concentration. This seldom seen absurdist comedy by Vaclav Havel, the great Czech playwright/ex-president, is oh-so-1968. A social scientist (Scott Rognlien) balances a nagging wife, sexy mistress and tempting secretary with the intrusions of another scientist (Amy Stiller), who’s trying to use a temperamental computer to analyze personalities. Stale sexual politics aside, the second act includes some funny, dizzying images of modern theories gone mad. Stephen Simek translated and Alex Lippard directed for The Next Arena. Lounge Theatre, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 960-7788. plays411.com/increaseddifficulty. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m. $20. Closes Sat., March 28.

Inside Private Lives. In successive solos, actors play six minor 20th century celebrities caught in crises that require direct appeals to gatherings of people supposedly in a position to help. The theater audience plays the celebrities' listeners - and we're encouraged to ask questions, offer criticism, even heckle so that an improvised exchange flows from the characters' initial remarks. The characters and actors rotate, but they normally begin with Kristin Stone, the show's creator and producer, as Christine Jorgensen. At the reviewed performance, they also included Edward VIII (Freddy Douglas), Aimee Semple McPherson (Molly Hagan), John Dillinger (Jade Carter), medium Jane Roberts (Maddisen Krown) and Billy Carter ((Bryan Safi). The show shrewdly makes connections with the present but avoids easy, overly familiar caricatures of contemporary figures. Fremont Center Theatre, South Pasadena. (866) 811-4111. InsidePrivateLives.com. Sun., 7 p.m. $20-$25. Closes Sun., April 26.

The Jazz Age. In yet another speculative dramatization of the lives of Scott (Luke Macfarlane) and Zelda (Heather Prete) Fitzgerald, plus Ernest Hemingway (Jeremy Gabriel), Allan Knee concentrates on suggestions of homoeroticism between the two men and an attempt by Zelda to seduce Hemingway. Michael Matthews’ staging features fine performances and Ian Whitcomb’s original music performed live by the composer and two other musicians. But it can’t shake that been-there, prospective-miniseries feeling. Blank Theatre, 6500 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 661-9827. TheBlank.com. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. $22-$28. Closes Sun., March 29.

Ken Roht's 99Cent Only Calendar Girl Competition. Roht's sixth annual extravaganza, again using design components from the budget stores, initially offers slightly more narrative spine than usual, in its satire of a beauty competition. Much of that spine dries up and crumbles in the second act, however, returning the emphasis entirely to the gaudy trimmings. As usual, the talented cast could hardly seem more committed. But Roht's program note, in which he somehow tries to link his efforts to the recent election, seems naive. Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd., L.A. (213) 389-3856. bootlegtheater.com. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. $25. Closes Sun., March 29.

Laws of Sympathy. Oliver Mayer is on to something here, in his depiction of how a mother (Anita Dashiell) and newly grown daughter (Diarra Kilpatrick) who have survived civil war in Somalia encounter culture shock and possibly worse exploitation in their new life in Atlanta. Despite the watchful eye of their primary resettlement counselor (Ahmad Enani), his colleague (Celeste Den) entangles the women with a scandal-tainted ex-track star (Will Dixon) when other job possibilities seem hopeless. The women are drawn to smiling kidvid characters as consolation for their woes. Jon Lawrence Rivera’s staging for Playwrights’ Arena seems fairly sturdy, although the playwright had to play Enani’s role, script in hand, at the performance I saw, after Enani called in sick. Perhaps this had something to do with my feeling that the counselors were over-emphasized at the expense of the women themselves. Studio/stage, 520 N. Western Ave., L.A. (213) 627-4473. playwrightsarena.org. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun. 7 p.m. $20. Closes Sun., March 29.   

Lions. The lower-middle-class regulars at a Detroit bar meet to monitor the success of their mostly beloved gridiron team (hence the title), but they gradually disintegrate in their private lives, thanks to a dead-end economy and a variety of personal shortcomings. The focal point is the unemployed John “Spook” Waite (Matt McKenzie), who’s bedeviled by Loman-like thoughts of the roads not taken. In one explosive scene, his wife (Valerie Dillman) invades his lair and confronts him. Most of the characterizations are well-observed, under the direction of Guillermo Cienfuegos. But like many barroom plays, Vince Melocchi’s needs a vigorous trim, which could make way for clarification about how Waite finally obtains a job and how it plays out.  Pacific Resident Theatre, Venice.  (310) 822-8392 . PacificResidentTheatre.com. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. March 12, 8 p.m. $20-$25. Closes Sun., March 29. 

Lovelace: A Rock Opera. Linda (Katrina Lenk) of Deep Throat fame is a quivering victim, primarily of her vile husband (Jimmy Swan) but also of her enabling mother (Whitney Allen). Then she abruptly rebels and becomes a feminist martyr, acquiring an unseen husband, as well as a child who remembers her fondly enough to narrate intermittently. There's no unspoken dialogue, but the program lists 40 songs by Anna Waronker of That Dog and Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go's's. Though some of the music is worthy and sung well, the effort to cram so much of it into 90 minutes reduces the story into something that's shallow and schematic, as in a similarly structured rock opera about Evel Knievel in 2007. Hayworth Theatre, near MacArthur Park. (323) 960-4442. plays411.com. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m. $40. Closes Sun., March 29.

Made Me Nuclear. Former Silent Movie Theatre proprietor Charlie Lustman sings about his bout with a very rare jaw cancer. Presented by the Sarcoma Alliance, the self-dubbed solo “operetta” fits the presenter's probable goal of providing a very light, cheerful take on Lustman's ordeal. This same quality drains much of the drama from the story. Lustman's an appealing singer of his soft folk/rock genre. He accompanies himself on guitar but is also backed by an elaborate electronic soundscape. His lyrics lack the complexity that might enhance this almost tension-free production. Santa Monica Playhouse, Santa Monica.  (866) 468-3399. MadeMeNuclear.com. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m. $20-$50. Closes Sat., May 30.

Makin’ Hay. Robert Goldsby adapts Molière’s George Dandin into a musical set in small-town Texas, 1957. The rancher George (David Atkinson) tries to squelch the extramarital flings of his younger wife (Rory Patterson) with a dashing suitor (Steven Hogle). Her parents (Brian Habicht, Suzanne Friedline) look down on their son-in-law but also owe him money. Servants (Johnny Chavez, Gina D’Acciaro) sometimes play key roles in the shenanigans, and other would-be rural couples offer a rather loony counterpoint. Some of the original’s components don’t blend in easily with the new milieu, but moments of shtick and the songs are gently amusing, despite somewhat erratic singing skills. The tone of the ending feels unintentionally uncertain. Linda Kerns directs for Actors Co-op. Crossley Terrace Theatre, campus of Hollywood Presbyterian Church, 1760 N. Gower, Hollywood. (323) 462-8460. ActorsCo-op.org. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m.; March 7 and 14, 2:30 p.m. $25-$34. Closes Sun., April 5.

Mammals. A London housewife is going bonkers tending her two young daughters (played by adults) while her husband travels for his job. When he returns home, he announces he’s in love with a colleague – the perfect moment for a couple of childless friends to stop by. John Pleshette’s U.S. premiere of Amanda Bullmore’s play is a funny, dead-eyed glance at the bending and breaking of two couples. Half of the roles are double cast, but the group I saw was exactly right, including the women playing rambunctious kids. Lost Studio, La Brea district. (800) 595-4849. tix.com. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m. $25. Closes Sun., April 5.

The Manor. From a 2007 review: The audience follows the action to several spaces within the palatial Greystone Mansion, watching a story based on a real murder that took place on the site in 1929, when it was owned by a family involved in the Teapot Dome scandal. The cast hits all the high notes in Kathrine Bates' sobering soap opera, produced by Theatre 40. Greystone Manor, Beverly Hills.  (310) 694-6118. Theatre40.org. Phone or see web site for schedule. $45. Closes Fri., June 19.

Point Break Live! It's back - the New Rock Theater takeoff on the 1991 Hollywood thriller. I haven't seen it in this venue, but when I saw it downtown, it added a tsunami of comedy to the original story, about an FBI agent (who's cast nightly from the audience and gets to read cue cards) investigating a gang of bank-robbing L.A. surfers. Wicked caricatures and bare-bones action sequences abound. Dragonfly, 6510 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood.  (866) 811-4111. Myspace.com/pointbreaklive or theatermania.com. Fri., 8:30 p.m. Sat., 8 p.m. $20. Closes Sat., May 30.

A Skull in Connemara. In Martin McDonagh’s early play, Mick (Morlan Higgins) clears old bones – including those of his departed wife – out of a rural Irish cemetery to make room for the new. Stuart Rogers’ staging is well acted but feels muted and looks literally too dark in act one. Theatre Tribe, North Hollywood.  (800) 838-3006. theatretribe.com. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m. $20. Closes Sat., March 28.

Stitching. The audience has to stitch together much of what happens between scenes in Anthony Neilson’s slim two-hander about a couple (John Ventimiglia, Meital Dohan) who aren’t sure whether to abort their fetus. As the play winds down, some of what happens between those scenes sounds remarkably momentous – but it’s hard to tell whether these events are “real” or whether they’re simply throwaway lines in the couple’s fantasy role-playing. In place of solid information, the transitions are filled with intrusive music that occasionally starts too soon in Timothy Haskell’s staging, overpowering the actors’ lines at the end of the preceding scene. Then again, Dohan’s Israeli accent makes her sometimes difficult to understand even when she has no competition. It’s a largely forgettable experience. Lillian Theatre, 1076 Lillian Way, Hollywood. (323) 962-7782. StitchingThePlay.com. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m. $25. Closes Sun., April 5. 

Taking Steps. Alan Ayckbourn’s farce mixes up two conventional middle-class Brits (Andy Hoff, Marty Ryan) and their more free-spirited mates (Melanie Lora, Kate Rylie), with a couple of amusing participants in a real estate deal (Jonathan Runyon, Bernard White). Directors Ron Sossi and Allan Miller get most of the laughs. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda, West L.A. (310) 477-2055. odysseytheatre.com. Phone or see website for times. $20-$30. Closes Sun., April 5.

Tartuffe. Josh Chambers’ iconoclastic staging of Molière’s great 1664 comedy employs Tim Cummings as the bourgeois householder Orgon and Antonio Anagaran as his sanctimonious and hypocritical guest, but Anagaran’s entire head is masked and Cummings speaks both characters’ lines, while Tartuffe remains mum. The production is supposedly set in the present-day San Fernando Valley, but there’s hardly a hint of this anywhere except in the program. Equally elusive are minutely choreographed movements of arms, hands, napkins and underpants. And why does Orgon voice a minor character near the end? You might entertain yourself by speculating about Chambers’ reasons, but his vision is so clouded and so unfunny that this should not be anyone’s first experience of the play. Boston Court, 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena. (626) 683-6883. bostoncourt.orgt. Thur.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. $5-$32. Closes Sun., March 22.

The Threepenny Opera. Jules Aaron’s staging for International City Theatre is the best rendition of this Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht classic that I’ve seen in the Southland. Aaron never forgets the show’s goal of satirizing capitalism by demonstrating how its precepts are adopted by thieves, murderer and whores. He chose Michael Feingold’s scabrous translation instead of Marc Blitzstein’s gentler, more familiar version. And he places the musical numbers front and center because these astringent songs are intended to explode directly in the audience’s collective face. The actors have big voices and supremely authoritative deliveries. Jeff Griggs is a dynamo as the charming and creepy criminal boss Macheath. As his bride, Shannon Warne segues smoothly from naivete to the self-confidence necessary to strip down to her underwear in order to sing “Pirate Jenny” at her own wedding. Tom Shelton and Eileen T’Kaye are commandingly snappy as her parents. Zarah Mahler sizzles as Jenny Diver, Macheath’s prostitute lover, but Rachel Genevieve is her wily match as Lucy Brown. The occasionally gender-flipping chorus adds to the wonderfully entertaining rogues’ gallery. Center Theatre, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. (562) 436-4610. ictlongbeach.org. Thur.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. $30-$45. Closes Sun., March 22.

The Trial of the Catonsville Nine. Daniel Berrigan’s 1971 docudrama, about his and eight fellow Catholic activists’ trial for burning draft records during the Vietnam War, is famous in L.A. for Gordon Davidson’s premiere at the Taper, which was rumored to have been monitored by the FBI. Yet Jon Kellam’s revival is rather staid, especially in contrast to that other recently revived Vietnam protest docudrama The Chicago Conspiracy Trial. Andrew E. Wheeler achieves the requisite passion as the author. In a bit of cross-gender casting, Adele Robbins plays the judge, who was entirely too polite and reasonable to generate much dramatic fire. Actors’ Gang, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. (310) 838-4264. theactorsgang.com. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. Closes Sat., March 28.

Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light. Billed by Native Voices as a “world premiere play,” it’s really more of an indie music/spoken word act. Joy Harjo talks about her sad early life as a Mvskoke Indian in Oklahoma, occasionally punctuating her remarks with riffs on a saxophone, accompanied by Larry Mitchell on guitar. She has no apparent training as an actress, which might have helped her vary her wooden poses. If director Randy Reinholz tried to help, it isn’t readily apparent. Autry National Center of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park. (323) 667-2000. autrynationalcenter.org. Thurs.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m. $20. Closes Sun., March 29.