STAGE REVIEW : A BRIEF ‘EXPOSURE’ TO BAD THEATER

Stick “Southern Exposure,” at the Powerhouse, into the so-bad-it’s-good file. The play, a preachy anti-Southern melodrama stuffed into three brief scenes, would qualify only for so-bad-it’s-good status, except that Ennalls Berl’s staging increases the potential for unintended giggles.

For example, though one young man grimaces wildly, his lines are almost unintelligible. Then there’s the fact that playwright Debra Sullivan made sure that the character she plays (Julip LaTour) wears the most stylish (albeit incongruous) costumes. Still, what really qualifies this shambles for consideration by connoisseurs of bad theater is its length. Although this self-dubbed “one-act play” includes two eight-minute intermissions, it lasts barley an hour. You can enjoy it without wasting a whole evening.

Performances at 3116 2nd St., Santa Monica, Thursdays through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m.; (213) 392-6529.