'Dead Man's Cell Phone' at South Coast Repertory

Sarah Ruhl is a playwright whose whimsy divides audiences. If you resist her capricious gambits, you wind up an unhappy -- possibly angry -- theatrical camper. "Dead Man's Cell Phone," her latest play, which opened Friday at South Coast Repertory, will test even her most faithful followers. But there's just enough tantalizing substance to rescue its quirkiness from all-out preciousness.

By Charles McNulty

September 29, 2008