CURRENTLY PLAYING OCTOBER 9, 2008

Abigail’s Party. In Mike Leigh’s 1977 anatomy of a suburban social meltdown, we’re actually at a party hosted by Beverly (Nikki Glick), not the 15-year-old Abigail who’s hosting her own teen-oriented bash next door. Abigail’s divorced and distressed mother (Cerris Morgan-Moyer) is one of Beverly’s guests, as are the younger new neighbors (Phoebe James, Jonathan LaPaglia). The two married women are loud and chatty, but the men – especially Beverly’s workaholic husband (Darren Richardson, who looks too young) – are not natural party animals. Julian Holloway’s acidic staging initially seems swamped by suburban trivia but eventually explodes, wading into issues of life and death. Odyssey Theatre, West L.A. (310) 477-2055. odysseytheatre.com. Closes Nov. 2.

As U2 Like It. Troubadour Theater’s take on Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” with musical numbers inspired by U2, is a comic wildfire, done as just about anyone would like it. The laughs are huge, as is the wrestler Charles (Dan Waskom, on stilts). Some of the more potentially ribald elements of the original are brought to the forefront, as in a few raised eyebrows about the love between Rosalind (Breanna Pine) and Celia (Katie Nunez) – who pretends to be Selena, the Tejana pop star, while in the woods. Rick Batalla has sensational shtick in two roles, Matt Merchant is an especially dashing Orlando, and director Matt Walker also takes on Touchstone as a red-nosed clown. But no one can touch Beth Kennedy’s white-faced, Pierrot-like Jaques; her “Seven Ages of Man” speech works both as a broad caricature and an homage to the original. At one point the ensemble demonstrates how some of the U2 melodies sound, er, somewhat alike, and of course Shakespeare takes a few lumps as well – the previously unseen visitor in the finale is no longer a mortal with earthly tidings, or even Bono, but rather Jesus himself. Falcon Theatre, Burbank. (818) 955-8101. FalconTheatre.com or Troubie.com. Closes Oct. 12.

Be Like Water. Dan Kwong, better known as a solo performance artist, wrote a multi-actor play set in 1978 Chicago, about an alienated 14-year-old girl (Saya Tomioka) who idolizes the late Bruce Lee (Cesar Cipriano, as Lee’s ghost), just as her Chinese American father (Michael Sun Lee) did in his own youth. But the girl’s Japanese American mother (Pam Hayashida) wants a more ladylike daughter. Chris Tashima’s production for East West Players and Cedar Grove OnStage has a somewhat predictable youth-theater vibe, complete with plenty of callow energy and winning humor. The cast includes four 14-year-olds, with Shawn Huang a standout as a solitary disco devotee who also, coincidentally, bears the name of Bruce Lee. But the adult performances are worthy, too. David Henry Hwang Theater, Little Tokyo, downtown L.A. (213) 625-7000. eastwestplayers.org. Closes Oct. 12.

Dead Man’s Cell Phone. Jean (Margaret Welsh) never knew Gordon (Lenny Von Dohlen), but she’s the one who discovers his body after he’s felled by a heart attack. After assigning herself the task of answering his ringing cell phone, she becomes involved with his family and his affairs – for what seem like completely innocent, even noble purposes. But eventually she finds herself swamped and imperiled by the little deceits necessary to pull off her adventure. It almost feels as if something similar happened to playwright Sarah Ruhl, whose narrative becomes such a shaggy little dog that her themes about contemporary intimacy and distance seem to diminish instead of enlarge as the play goes on. And why was it necessary for us to know so little about the pre-Gordon Jean? Still, Bart DeLorenzo’s staging is a lot of fun, with such welcome faces as Shannon Holt, Nike Doukas, Christina Pickles and Andrew Borba playing broadly comic supporting roles. South Coast Repertory Argyros Stage, Costa Mesa. (714) 708-7555. scr.org. Closes Oct. 12.

Don’t Talk to the Actors. Tom Dudzick dramatizes his own experience as a fresh-outta-Buffalo playwright who’s finally hitting the Broadway big-time. It’s a little dead in the first act until Eileen T’Kaye’s bawdy nightclub comic turned actress shows up. The second act offers more grist for the comic mill, and Rick Sparks’s actors (Chris McKenna, Emily Eiden, Steve Vinovich, Joel Polis, Denise Moses) handle it with aplomb. Laguna Playhouse, Laguna Beach. (949) 497-2787. LagunaPlayhouse.com. Closes Oct. 12.

The Four of Us. Itamar Moses examines the evolving friendship between two young men: a self-sufficient, wildly successful novelist (Ryan Johnston) and a neurotic, struggling, envious playwright (Steven Klein). The chronological sequence is distorted, but it’s engaging to put the pieces together in Michelle Tattenbaum’s staging for Firefly Theater and VS. Theatre. Moses avoids an opportunity for more memorable emotional fireworks near the end, but it reinforces one of the play’s points – that friendships among young men are often emotionally restricted and transient. Elephant Theatre Lab, Hollywood. (800) 838-3006. fireflyinc.com. Closes Oct. 19.

The Friendly Hour. Tom Jacobson dramatizes selected minutes from the meetings of a women’s social club in rural South Dakota, from 1934 to 2007. Four actresses (Deana Narone, Mara Marini, Kate Mines, Ann Noble) play individual women, while one (Bettina Zacar) plays at least four. Most of them use Norwegian accents, and they all age fairly convincingly, despite having no time for makeup makeovers. Much like the men in The Four of Us (see review), the women’s friendships wax and wane – but they last a lot longer. Mark Bringelson’s staging yields moments of amusement and poignancy. (866) 811-4111. roadtheatre.org. Closes Nov. 1.

Hamlet. Young Hamlet (Freddy Douglas) has started cutting himself since the death of his father. When he investigates reports of his father’s ghost’s appearance, he sees only images of…himself – Douglas also plays the Ghost, throwing his voice in a kind of Jekyll-and-Hyde routine. In other words, this prince’s feigned craziness might not be entirely feigned. Still, in Michael Michetti’s eerily effective staging, there’s no questioning of the basic facts. Gertrude (Deborah Strang) appears even more convinced of her new husband’s guilt than usual. Maybe it’s the way this Claudius (Francois Giroday) combines an eccentrically flamboyant look with such explosive tantrums. Anyway, when Gertrude takes her fatal drink, it’s as if she’ll do anything to prevent her son from falling into her husband’s traps. Plenty of interesting ideas percolate in Michetti’s somewhat stripped-down staging (only 10 actors, no Fortinbras), and the cast is terrific, including ANW newcomer but longtime local favorite Tony Abatemarco as the busybody Polonius. Contemporary touches in the visual and sound design add a sleek, modern patina. I was annoyed only by a decision to bring Dorothea Harahan back as an extra, more or less, after her Ophelia has drowned. Or maybe she’s actually supposed to be her own ghost? But she says nothing. The final torment on Ophelia’s face is too indelible for us to pretend later that we can’t spot her there in the back row and wonder why Michetti brought her back. A Noise Within, Glendale. (818) 240-0910. ANoiseWithin.org. In repertory; resumes Oct. 15, closes Dec. 7.

The House of Blue Leaves. Why was John Guare’s 38-year-old, oft-produced comedy selected to re-open L.A.’s most famous theatrical venue after a $30 million renovation? Who knows? Nicholas Martin’s revival is good but hardly revelatory. John Pankow plays the philandering would-be songwriter, with Kate Burton as his batty wife and Jane Kaczmarek as his brassy mistress. Mark Taper Forum, Music Center, downtown L.A. (213) 628-2772. CenterTheatreGroup.org. Closes Oct. 19.

Kiss of the Spider Woman. This seldom seen 1993 musical, with a score by Fred Ebb and John Kander, isn’t in their top tier (Cabaret, Chicago), but thanks are due to Havok Theatre and director Nick DeGruccio for giving us a thoroughly professional opportunity to assess the show anew in an intimate space. Based on Manuel Puig’s novel and set in a Latin American country during a repressive regime, Terrence McNally’s script follows two prisoners who are thrown together in the same cell. Molina (Chad Borden) is a homosexual window dresser. Valentin (Daniel Tatar) is a fiery politico who apparently has information about rebel forces. Predictably, they can’t stand each other until they form a bond in the face of their common tormentor – the warden (Ed F. Martin), who speaks along the lines of “We have ways…” Such a grim setting would breed a claustrophobic show if it didn’t also take us into a fantasy world – in this case, Molina’s memories of the escapist movies he knows by heart, starring the ever-glamorous Aurora (Terra C. Macleod), who in one movie became the deadly Spider Woman. Compared to a political prisoner’s visions in a more famous jail-set musical, Man of La Mancha, Molina’s fantasies are simplistic dead ends instead of truly transformational – over-extended opportunities to show off Fosse-like strutting as much as thematic culminations. The score never achieves the state of delirious inevitability that Kander and Ebb sometimes provide. Still, it’s impressively performed by a six-piece orchestra and a burnished cast, also featuring the lustrous Eileen Barnett as Molina’s mother. Bootleg Theatre, Beverly Blvd. west of downtown L.A. (800) 595-4849. havoktheatre.com. Closes Oct. 26.

Louie & Keely Live at the Sahara: This extraordinary bio-musical, about the postwar lounge duo that consisted of the jittery dervish Louis Prima (Jake Broder) and his deadpan-wielding wife Keely Smith (Vanessa Claire Smith), is now in a slightly larger venue than the Sacred Fools Theatre where it originated. Maybe because of the position of my seat in each of the venues, I felt as if I couldn’t see the stage-left blocking as well as I could the first time. Still, that’s a minor matter, compared to the jazzy jolt of adrenalin that rules this show. The two primary actors wrote the show for themselves, but it gallops past the limitations of most showcases and star bios to become an exquisite evocation of the joys and the sorrows of a performance-obsessed life, staged by Jeremy Aldridge. The stars and Dennis Kaye’s onstage, seven-man band bring breathless revelations to 16 oft-heard standards. Matrix Theatre, Melrose district. (800) 838-3006. louiskeelyshow.com. Closes Oct. 26.

My Old Friends. The denizens of a retirement hotel sing (and occasionally dance) songs about old age, or at least old age as it was when this 1979 one-act musical first appeared. Several story lines make tentative appearances, but they’re so slender and pat that the show almost has the nature of a revue instead of a book musical. Which isn’t entirely a loss – some of the songs are quite affecting, and the cast performs them with professional aplomb and seasoning. The first half, in which the characters are tyrannized by an unseen supervisor and sing about their memories of watching an old movie Western, feels rather strained, but the second half is somewhat more persuasive. The romantic leads, Tom Ormeny and Betsy Randle, are appealing, but they look a little too young and vigorous. More at home are such troupers as Pat Hodges, Annie Abbott, Marc Elliot, Malachi Throne and Ruben Rabasa. Victory Theatre, Burbank. (818) 841-5421. victorytheatrecenter.org. Closes Oct. 26.

9 to 5. The 1980 movie with Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda is usually remembered as a feminist comedy, but it also was a caper comedy, and the elaborately plotted caper sequences don’t work well in this stage musical adaptation. Although the story is still set in the original era, the musical adds an entire Parton score (in addition to the movie’s jaunty title number), frenetic dance sequences, elaborate projections as well as sets, and a half-baked romance for the Tomlin character (now played by Allison Janney) with a younger accountant (Andy Karl). When the movie’s slapsticky elements are not only retained but made even less credible, a lot of clutter gathers. Patricia Resnick’s script needs a heavy-duty dredge before the show moves to Broadway next year, and it might help if the office newbie (Stephanie J. Block) isn’t notably less competent than she was even in the movie. However, the casting and performances are excellent, including Megan Hilty in Parton’s old role. Joe Mantello of Wicked fame directs, but Wicked was 9 to 5 times more imaginative and sophisticated than this show in its present state. Ahmanson Theatre, Music Center, downtown L.A. (213) 628-2772. CenterTheatreGroup.org. Closes Oct. 19.

Pugilist Specialist. You’d think that a group of four Marines who are training for a hush-hush assassination attempt in a Middle Eastern country would not have the ostentatiously blabbering personalities that playwright Adriano Shaplin has given them. True, they’re talking among themselves, and Shaplin probably doesn’t intend for us to take their dialogue realistically. Perhaps he’s trying to show us what they would sound like if they were allowed to talk out their thoughts without inhibitions – yet after all those words, there are still a few elements of the back-story that remain hazy. Their stylized talk doesn’t segue very smoothly into the marginally more realistic depiction of their cloak-and-dagger mission. Thankfully, a big surprise ending gives us another reason to doubt the authenticity of the earlier chat. Allison Sie’s crisp staging for VS. Theatre features Donald Agnelli as the hard-headed commander and Kimberly Rose-Wolter, Linc Hand and Max Williams as the young lieutenants. Elephant Lab Theatre, Hollywood. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Sundays. (323) 860-3283. vstheatre.org. Closes Oct. 19.

Sea Change. In Nick Salamone’s play, three gay men (Ryan Yu, Nick Cimiluca, Clay Storseth) and two lesbians (Fran De Leon, Lisa Tharps) sail together near Provincetown, Mass. in 1974, 1995 and 2000. The venue is dominated by a small boat’s deck (designed by Gary Reed), with the audience on two sides in Jon Lawrence Rivera’s staging. But it isn’t quite big enough, considering the number of one-on-one conversations that the others aren’t supposed to hear, although they’re closer than we are. The talk sometimes sounds like navel-gazing, but there is plenty of narrative water flowing between scenes. The ending feels rushed and incomplete. Davidson/Valentini Theatre, L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, Hollywood. (323) 860-7300. lagaycenter.org. Closes Oct. 12.

Speech & Debate. Three teenagers in Salem, Ore. join forces to expose adult gay sexual predators while also earning extracurricular credit for their half-hearted attempt to start a speech and debate club. The emphasis in Stephen Karam’s droll comedy is so focused on the geeky kids (Mae Whitman, Michael Welch, Aaron Himelstein), as opposed to the adults who remain offstage, that the play begins to feel almost as insular and obsessed as the kids themselves. But Daniel Henning’s staging is sharply observed. Blank Theatre, Hollywood. (323) 661-9827. TheBlank.com. Closes Oct. 26.

This Beautiful City. This provocative, engaging docu-musical dramatizes a panorama of evangelical attitudes and activities during the 2006 mid-term election campaign – all of it in Colorado Springs, home of Focus on the Family, Ted Haggard’s New Life Church and the Air Force Academy. The New York-based troupe The Civilians interviewed a cross-section of Colorado Springs citizens that year, focusing on their experiences with the religious right. Steve Cosson and Jim Lewis converted excerpts from the material into song lyrics and spoken text, and Cosson directed a six-actor troupe. Michael Friedman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) wrote the music, which often sounds like a slice of authentic Christian rock/folk. Fortunately for the dramatic arc, 2006 was the year Haggard crashed and burned, but the script also devotes considerable time to two other congregations – a black church with a minister who shocked his flock by coming out as gay prior to the revelations about Haggard, and a small group that takes congregants into caves in order to fight the emissaries of evil. We also hear from a number of individuals outside church settings, including a tranny Christian, a believer whose loser life was truly saved by her church affiliation, a local alternative newspaper editor and metaphorical rangers in the nearby Rockies. The transition between characters in different scenes confused me only once; generally it’s a valuable examination of culturally charged politics from a wide range of perspectives. Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre, Culver City. (213) 628-2772. CenterTheatreGroup.org. Closes Oct. 26.

Wicked. Teal Wicks and Erin Mackey now play Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, in the long-running musical steamroller about the formative years of Oz’s Wicked Witch and Glinda. They’re both fine, but the roles are so fixed at this late date that it’s difficult to imagine any actresses making themselves particularly distinctive in them. Still, the show deserves repeated viewings, with different details noticeable each time out. Powered by Joe Mantello’s propulsive staging, Stephen Schwartz’s score and Winnie Holzman’s script (from Gregory Maguire’s novel) are simultaneously tongue in cheek and heart on sleeve. Pantages Theatre, Hollywood. (213) 365-3500. BroadwayLA.org. Closes Jan. 11.