‘BENCH,’ ‘PRIVATE VIEWS’ AT ENSEMBLE THEATRE

With the premiere of its “Marathon ‘86,” Ensemble Studio Theatre is following in the footsteps of its sister theater in New York, which has been doing such one-act festivals since 1978. Alas, Series A, made up of Hindi Brooks’ “The Bench” and Geri Servi’s “Private Views,” is not the distinguished opener we’d hoped for.

Brooks’ piece offers an unpretentious slice of life set on the Venice boardwalk, but it’s not about the people you’d expect to see there. With a sympathetic eye and ear, the playwright looks in on an elderly quartet (Manny Kleinmuntz, Eda Reiss Merin, Gene Elman and Elsa Raven, all affecting under Ruth Manning’s direction) during election-day morning. That date serves the purpose for a couple of jokes, but has no reverberation beyond that. Neither, really, does the play, which is most concerned with Merin’s and Raven’s sisterly feuding. Swathed in tenderness, “The Bench” virtually bypasses these characters’ assuredly rich, bitter and difficult histories.

“Private Views” is a bit more committed to tracking the pasts of sisters Ruth (Barbara Tarbuck) and Irene (Kate Williamson), but Servi could learn much from Brooks about the virtues of brevity and understatement. Her drama has Ruth enduring spiritual anguish while anticipating her breast cancer operation, Irene unsure how she can help her through it.

Servi employs a cross-cutting technique, alternating between the sisters in the waiting room and a domestic space where they begin reminiscing about childhood, their father and the Nazis. Never mind that Tarbuck’s Ruth and Williamson’s Irene aren’t in the least European--although one wonders how this passed by director Paula Marchese. This narrative montage, combined with Servi’s overstuffed poeticism, turns what should be a jarring piece into something stifling.

Series A resumes next Friday and continues Aug. 2, 8 and 9 at 8 p.m.; Aug. 3 and 10, 7 p.m., at 1089 N. Oxford Ave., Hollywood, (213) 466-2226)

‘ACME MATERIAL’

Maybe this reviewer is getting old, but isn’t John Steppling a little fresh out of the gate to be already influencing protege playwrights? John Pappas, writer and director of “Acme Material,” at the Cast Theatre, developed his play in a Steppling-led workshop. Steppling’s themes and methods are all over “Acme,” but Pappas’ work is so nakedly personal that we admire how he turns overt borrowings to his own advantage.

The Acme Gang, an ominous-looking group of high school toughs, has a new applicant (Gregory Hormel), prodded on by his pal and Acme member Crop (Hennen Chambers). Is he Acme material? asks ringleader Skin (Robert Hummer). Let the initiation begin.

Rather than a lurid expose of male masochism, Pappas probes the struggle between identity and the fear of emptiness that is the classic heart of dramas about adolescence. Spurred on by Hormel’s savage, bluesy guitar sound track and charged by a Stepplingesque string of short scenes punctuated by blackouts, “Acme Material” works on your nerves in the way a walk down a dark Hollywood street can. He also has the courage to switch directions in midstream--suddenly it’s Skin’s fate we’re hooked on.

Pappas the writer has to sharpen his dialogue (thoroughly unsuitable for children, of whom there were--incredibly--an unattended few in the audience the night we saw it), just as Pappas the director should discipline his pacing. It’s scary, though, how close this cast seems to characters your mother warned you about. For once, some danger on the stage.

Performances at 804 N. El Centro Ave., Mondays through Wednesdays, 8 p.m., ends Aug. 20; (213) 462-0265.

‘FAT CHANCE’

John Young as Sammy, an overweight accountant with zero friends, turns Michael Elkin’s “Fat Chance” into something special at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Elkin may have virtually nothing original to say about what it means to be fat in a society of the slim (or the image of it), but Young is determined to show us how it is for the overeater. After seeing this performance, you may never look at a can of Pringles the same way again.

If a junk-food item exists, it’s in Sammy’s unkempt apartment. He’s under a blanket, aimlessly grabbing at an emptied Whitman’s Sampler. Or he’s ordering three large pizzas. Young’s Sammy isn’t terribly funny; he’s getting tired of this, but he can’t stop himself. The man puts a lump in your throat.

Elkin launches into a plot with a radio deejay (Steve Susskind, substituting for Mark Paskell) and a blind date (Diane Blumenfeld, alternating with Michelle Harris) that, though sparked with some cleverness, is conventional stuff ending in TV-like optimism. With Alan Feinstein’s unfettered direction, Young overcomes even this to get at some silent truths.

Performances at 254 S. Robertson Blvd., Sundays at 2 p.m., ends Aug. 10; (213) 874-3678.

‘TWO BY TWO’

Old, tired and creaky, this Richard Rodgers-Martin Charnin musical about Noah, his family and the Ark belongs in the pantheon of American pop trashings of great literature. For the Noah tale is surely that, the best biblical exemplar of the wise Judaic value of trusting in God to a point--just remember this is the only life you have.

Peter Stone’s book is a long, rambling tale that treats the Ark family like some Norman Lear variant. Osa Danam’s and Elaine Moe’s production at the Megaw Theatre lets the material stumble on of its own accord, with no comment. The “contemporary” Jewish family humor in this show is especially dusty in light of “Kvetch,” so we can only hope for a fetching Noah or some good Rodgers tunes.

Paul Keith’s Noah exudes charm without the requisite strength (Noah was nothing if not courageous) and he’s shaky in the singing department. The less said about Rodgers’ contribution, the better (though the live trio led by keyboardist Steven Applegate gives the hollow score some substance). The design--Garland Riddle’s costumes, Susan Takacs’ set and Timothy Berreth’s lights--is underconceived and underbudgeted.

Performances at 17601 Saticoy St., Wednesdays through Saturdays, 8:30 p.m., Sundays at 5 p.m., ends Aug. 31; (818) 881-8166.