CURRENTLY PLAYING MARCH 26, 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. 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 Hollywood. (818) 508-7101. thenohoartscenter.com. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. $20-$25. Dark April 12. Closes Sun., April 26.

Everybody Say “Cheese!” Memories of his squabbling parents from the ‘60s inspired Garry’s Marshall’s comedy, set in 1965. With her nest emptied, Harriet (DeeDee Rescher) is turning 50 and wants more out of life than her routines in a Bronx apartment can provide. But Leo (Joe Regalbuto, often channeling Marshall’s own distinctive inflections) would rather keep building shelves inside the apartment as a kind of buffer against the changing world. Marshall shovels improbable comic shtick into the situation – on the same day Harriet demands a divorce, she supposedly boosts her chances by hiring a sleazy attorney (Joel Johnstone) to bring a sinus-congested prostitute (Roberta Valderrama) into the home and stage fake adultery photos – and the otherwise resistant Leo cooperates. Marshall’s program note says he originally wrote the play as a break from sitcoms, so why punch it up with sitcom plot twists? Still, as directed by Steve Zuckerman, it gets some of the laughs that Marshall felt were necessary. Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Dr., Burbank. (818) 955-8101. FalconTheatre.com. Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m., April 11, 4 p.m. $32.50-$55. Closes Sat., April 11.

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.

Frost/Nixon. Is the celebrated saga about David Frost’s interviews of Nixon worth seeing when you could have seen the movie for as little as one-fortieth of the cost of a ticket to the play? In this recession, no. Too bad that screenwriter Peter Morgan wrote both scripts – another writer might have brought a sufficiently different voice to justify seeing both versions. The power of the close-up screen image is an important theme here, so director Michael Grandage uses a big screen monitor to replicate what we’re seeing during the interview segments, but why is it divided into 36 little squares? Alan Cox’s Frost is more lightweight than Michael Sheen’s in the movie. Nixon is currently played by Bob Ari, but I saw Stacy Keach in the role before he suffered a mild stroke. As of this writing, Keach’s return to the role in L.A. was still uncertain. Ahmanson Theatre, Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. (213) 628-2772. CenterTheatreGroup.org. Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; Sun., 1 and 6:30 p.m. Dark March 26. $20-$80. Closes Sun., March 29.

Ghosts. All the modern realistic dramas about the exposure of family secrets owe a debt to Ibsen, and maybe especially to this well-known but seldom-staged gloom-fest from 1881. The widow Alving (Deborah Strang), about to dedicate an orphanage in her husband’s memory, can’t resist telling a few unsavory truths about the deceased after decades of repression. She speaks with the pastor (Joel Swetow) she once loved, with her ailing and free-loving artist son (J. Todd Adams) and with her maid who’s actually more than a maid (Rebecca Mozo through March 22, then Jaimi Paige). Meanwhile, a wily but unpleasant contractor (Mark Bramhall) schemes to get something out of everyone else. Director Michael Murray and the sterling cast weave the strands together smoothly without tumbling into soap operatic excess. The design team successfully evokes the bleak atmosphere of a dark, dark Norwegian town.  A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale. (818) 240-0910. ANoiseWithin.org. In repertory; phone or check web site for schedule. $40-$44. Closes Sat., May 9.

Goldfish. John Kolvenbach’s play about a responsible son and college student (Tasso Feldman) who has to compensate for his wayward father (Conor O’Farrell) is mildly poignant but almost weirdly old-fashioned. Although set in “the present,” the boy and his new girlfriend (Kate Rylie) communicate only by landline phone when they’re separated. And I didn’t believe that these two would want to get married before they’re out of college. The girl’s mom (Joan McMurtrey) is problematic in her own way, but her opposition to hearing wedding bells makes sense. Loretta Greco extracts wonderful performances from one and all. South Coast Repertory, Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa. (714) 708-5555. scr.org. Tues.-Sun., 7:45 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m. $28-$64. Closes Sun., April 5.

The Graduate. Terry Johnson adapted the play from Charles Webb’s novel as well as the screenplay of the famous movie, and the differences from the movie are obvious. Benjamin’s love object Elaine Robinson is much more substantial here and her final decision better justified, and Benjamin and Elaine are not quite the same avatars of youthful rebellion. The comedy of manners snaps crisply in Jules Aaron’s intimate staging for West Coast Ensemble, with Ben Campbell as a very callow Benjamin and Kelly Lloyd as an utterly commanding Mrs. Robinson. El Centro Theater, 800 N. El Centro Ave., Hollywood. (323) 460-4443. tix.com. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. $18-$20. Closes Sun., April 5. 

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 by giving Hicks a chance to flog his new CD by singing a number after the show itself ends. 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. Reviewed at the Pantages Theatre, where it has now closed. 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.   

The Letters. In 1931, a Soviet bureaucrat (Norman Snow) summons a nervous underling (Julia Fletcher) to his office with good news – a promotion over her fellow censors in the archives department. Then the other shoe drops, as it becomes apparent that one of her comrades has been very, very bad in Stalinist terms and that she is expected to provide key evidence against the man who has been her off-hours lover. John W. Lowell’s 80-minute, real-time dialogue twists and turns down sinuous and sinister alleys as the two assess each other’s defenses. I didn’t find the ending completely credible, but I won’t give it away, because Anne McNaughton’s direction for Andak Stage is too fascinatingly nuanced to spoil. NewPlace Studio,10950 Peach Grove St., North Hollywood. (866) 811-4111. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. $20. Closes Sun., April 19.

Lie With Me. A family stews in the aftermath of adult-onset incest, several years after the fact, but they have to face each other again when the mother (Emily Morrison) is hospitalized with brain cancer. The principals are the father (Christian Lebano) and older daughter (Taylor Coffman), whose sister (Amber Hamilton) spills the beans to the older daughter’s filmmaker boyfriend (Ian Cohn). Playwright Keith Bridges worked in collaboration with members of the new Mutineer Theatre. Nothing is especially surprising, and a scene from the period when the incest was ongoing might have added some raw power, but the performances feel lived-in and convincing, in Joe Banno’s staging. Art/Works Theatre, 6569 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 960-7787. plays411/com/liewithme. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.   $18. Closes Sun., April 5.

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. $20-$25. Closes Sun., May 3. 

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-Gos. 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.

Photograph 51. Anna Ziegler tells the tale of the British scientist Rosalind Franklin (Aria Alpert), whose titular photograph played an instrumental role in the research that led to the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure by the more celebrated, all-male team of James Watson (Ian Gould), Francis Crick (Kerby Joe Grubb) and Franklin’s particular nemesis Maurice Wilkins (Daniel Billet). The no-nonsense Franklin is seen here not simply as a casualty of sexism but also, more dimensionally, as a woman whose loner obstinacy might even have irritated other women scientists – if any of them had been in the labs. Partially because of her premature death at age 37, from a cancer that Ziegler suggests might have been caused by her work in the lab, she assumes a tragic stature that elevates the play and Simon Levy’s staging into an absorbing and touching event, marred only by a rather pro forma and insufficiently introduced romantic interest (Ross Hellwig)  and lightened by the droll presence of Franklin’s graduate assistant (Graham Norris). Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., east Hollywood. (323) 663-1525. FountainTheatre.com. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. $18-$28. Closes Sun., May 3.

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 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.

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.