STAGE REVIEW : RUMORS NOISED ABOUT IN ‘QUIET DELL’

October, 1965, was a scorcher in Quiet Dell, W. Va.--in more ways than one. The gossip was as hot as the weather. Drink had finally done in Billy Frank, the town lothario. There were rumors about the shaky marriage of the other Billy--the one who worked at the gas station. And word was out that the mayor’s teen-age son had propositioned the high school football hero.

Three of Dale Wilson’s six one-acts about these goings-on, titled “Quiet Dell Unincorporated,” are at the Fountain Theatre. They aren’t uniformly successful, but they pass a basic test: I’d like to see the other three plays in the series (and the producers plan to provide that opportunity early next year).

The strongest play in the current batch is the first, “Friends Will Be Received.” More than the others, it tackles a subject--how much we know and don’t know about each other--that transcends the lives of its particular characters. It also maintains a more consistent tone--wry comedy edging into melancholy--than the others.

In “Friends,” three women escape the stultifying atmosphere of Billy Frank’s funeral for some liquor-lubricated dirt-dishing, which hits surprisingly close to home. Suzan Hendershot is particularly notable as the least proficient gossip of the bunch. Robert Rigamonti’s direction is more focused than his set design, which leaves uncertain the whereabouts of this little gabfest.

Next up is “Thursday Night Cinemagraphic Emporium,” in which three 30ish men, former high school buddies, gather for their own brand of chitchat and liquid refreshment, with stag movies thrown in as an additional lure.

This one covers well-trodden territory and relies too much on a bit of offstage melodrama for its impact, yet Rigamonti’s troops bring their characters to life.

The final entry, “7:10 From Clarksburg,” introduces an outsider. A young woman who’s passing through town on the bus counsels the mayor’s son after he’s been beaten up by a pack of bullies. Despite an intriguing ending that asks us to choose between two versions of the woman’s own story, the woman is too much the know-it-all. She’s more of an attitude than a character--a problem in the script that actress Janet Landon hasn’t overcome. Directed by Joey Aresco, “7:10” is the most contrived of the three plays.

Performances are at 5060 Fountain Ave., Thursdays through Sundays at 8 p.m., indefinitely (213) 663-1525.