‘SIR JOHN OLDCASTLE’--MAYHAP SHAKESPEARE?

R. Thad Taylor, L.A. theater’s resident Shakespeare maven, has unearthed an undeniable curiosity piece. Are you ready for “Sir John Oldcastle”?

This historical drama, which was overshadowed by “Henry IV” and “Henry V,” is so obscure it was reportedly last staged in 1600! Talk about an American premiere.

Whether Shakespeare had a hand in the play is unclear. Producer-director Taylor, in the Globe Playhouse program, ascribes the play to the Bard, as does a quarto from 1600. But authorship points to collaborative efforts (of Drayton, Munday), which would put the play among Shakespeare’s so-called “pseudo plays” or “doubtful plays.” Taylor maintains that Shakespeare did collaborate, thus making it one of Shakespeare’s “lost plays.”

It’s all pretty murky, but if the play’s the thing, this production is valuable for a clutch of solid performances and its literary/historical interest.

The central characters are Henry V (a warm, vivid performance by Ty Warren) and the entitled Oldcastle (played with romantic flare by Roscoe Vest).

The Oldcastle character is based on a heroic true-life knight who was executed as a heretic on Christmas Day in 1418 and whom Shakespeare fancifully embellished as young Henry’s boon companion, Sir John Falstaff. (Falstaff was was called Oldcastle in “Henry IV, Part I” until an outraged Oldcastle descendant compelled Shakespeare to rename the character.)

Language in the mix of comedy and drama is largely ordinary, lacking rich imagery, and the structure is flabby with lumpy subplots.

The Globe is strong on clear diction and among the 32 (!) cast members, distinctive support is delivered by Richard Berman, Al Constantinieau, Paul Batchelor, Alexis Durack, Edward Howes and John Winston (as Henry V’s servant, and particularly impressive).

Running time is 2 1/2 hours. That’s important to know, because the house is cold. Performances at 1107 N. King’s Road, West Hollywood, Wednesday through Sunday, 8 p.m., through Sunday, (213) 654-5623.

‘EMMA ROTHSTEIN’

The heroine of Leslie Brody’s “Emma Rothstein” at the Tracy Roberts Theatre is not a feminist labor organizer but a Jewish girl falling in love with a Jewish soldier at a World War II USO dance for Jewish soldiers.

It’s interesting to know that Jewish soldiers had their own dances in the Big War. This offhand note in the play unobtrusively recalls the real segregations of Nisei and black soldiers in the war and you appreciate a romantic comedy, of all things, that suggests these observations. But this play has problems.

Performances are vivid under the direction of Peter Tripp. But the script is uneven, taking forever to gather momentum, and indulging in time and space liberties that don’t work in the context of a dance-hall romance.

As the heroine, Stacey Katcher is vivacious and convincingly tremulous. Helene Winston’s standout Gypsy/seer/storyteller is straight out of some black middle-European forest. She does a solo turn that’s mesmerizing. She’s partnered with a piano-banging Jacque Lynn Colton, whose strange cheery agitation is quirky delight.

The parents are richly played by Herman Arbeit and Helen Baron (Baron is deceptively strong). Technical credits are just OK. Production is certainly emblematic of a theater that needs to balance obvious acting interests with a view toward a seamless production.

Performances at 141 S. Robertson Blvd., Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 and 7 p.m., runs indefinitely, (213) 271-1478.

‘CARDIGAN CHRISTMAS SHOW’

Remember those old saccharine Christmas television variety shows starring Perry Como? With the tree and the bells and the cheer and Perry’s cardigan? This is the Zephyr Theater’s answer to that.

Except “The Cardigan Christmas Show” is tougher to watch. For one thing, the live music is on the non-aural side. There’s nothing to hum to (notwithstanding Mel Torme’s “Christmas Song”).

We’re in a living room. We’re with six merry performers. They mix some good campy moments with disastrous moments. Any 10-year old will enjoy it, possibly.

John Dantona’s direction has no eye for flow, the writers (the cast, that is) no feel for coherence. Some bits run embarrassingly forever. Others, curiously, work fine, especially whenever “vibrant, imaginative, really strange” Stefan Haves is doing anything. He’s a find. So is Hope Haves, who also has great eyes and sharp comic control. Ronnie Sperling is fun, too, a nebbish who looks like Harold Lloyd at 19.

Chris Pina does a mean Bobby Darin imitation. But what’s Darin doing here? These young people are seeking a certain tone of satire and woolly spirit. But the reindeer aren’t flying.

Performances at 7456 Melrose Ave., Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 7 p.m. (call theater for other special showings), through Dec. 28, (818) 996-1947.

‘THE GREAT HAMBURGER WARS’

No beef. No art. No fun.

Any show with the title of “The Great Hamburger Wars” promises something. But this numbing production at the Olio Theater is stupefying. Former KBIG radio morning deejay Bill Ratner shucked it all last year to move to France and study avant-garde puppetry.

He came back with an idea for “mannequin theater,” featuring a gaggle of 3-foot mannequin-style puppets playing farcical board-room characters from rival fast-food chains.

Ratner and actress/co-writer Susan Rubin work the puppets (manhandle them is more like it because they have a tendency to fall over or lean too much). These are not marionettes on strings. They’re immobile mini-mannequin figures awkwardly shoved up on a table while Ratner and Rubin stand in shadow and work the dialogue.

The dialogue is endless. This puppet show is all talk and the talk becomes mindless because you can’t distinguish the characters. And there’s no movement. A performance piece indeed!

Performances at 3709 Sunset Blvd., Sunday only, 7 p.m., through Jan. 11, (213) 667-9556.