‘GIRF’: A BAD DREAM WITH A MESSAGE

Sinister, sexual, overwrought and fraught with symbolism, the California Youth Theatre’s teen musical “Girf” is still a bit of a kick, a febrile fantasy set to music, definitely not for the very young.

“Girf” was developed by teen-agers and young adults in a 1986 Youth Theatre workshop to address issues pertinent to that age group--peer pressure, drug abuse, suicide and family stress. Professionals Kenneth Wells-Smyth and David Francis rewrote the script and score, and the collaborative effort, featuring some of its original creators, is seeing the light of day at the Inner City Cultural Center.

Actually, “light of day” is misleading--the action takes place in one night of dark delirium, inside the mind of Alex, a troubled teen-ager. Jack Nakano’s tenebrous set is cobwebbed and menacing. Tendrils of fog curl around the tattered legs of a chorus of ghouls who torment Alex with his inability to let go of the anguish of his childhood: his father was an abusive drunk; his mother committed suicide. Alex blames himself for her death.

In the course of his nightmare, Alex imagines himself a rock star named Girf, falls in love with a blind girl who looks--gasp!--exactly like his mother (lovely Katrin E. Kern in a dual role), is almost seduced by an ethereal sprite (winsome Nicole Krelle) and thwarts an evil high school principal who looks like his father and harbors a toxic waste dump in the school’s boiler room.

(J. Howard Higley plays both father and principal. Outstanding as Principal Harrison, he deliciously provides real comedy amid the high camp and melodrama, abetted by Lisa Diamond in a vamp turn as Harrison’s secretary.)

Through it all, Alex is chided and guided by Buddha. No, not that Buddha--this is a long-haired hipster in a white suit, played to good effect by Guy Weston.

We also see scenes from Alex’s childhood, particularly the night his mother killed herself. The overly ambitious bouncing between the present and past of Alex’s fantasy becomes confusing. (The program explains that all this takes place in one night, so we won’t be totally at sea.)

The play’s resolution, when Alex lets go of his pain to finally realize he couldn’t have saved his mother, is murky and unconvincing.

The cast is fine. Bret Nighman, a handsome, lean young actor with an expressive, fine-boned face, gives Alex sensitivity and sex appeal. He can also sing and dance.

Everyone moves well and many have outstanding voices--their training shows. Director Corky Dominguez also choreographed; the well-staged group numbers in particular have a crisp “Chorus Line” feel. Lack of experience is apparent, however, when some of the singers allow the music to muffle their lyrics.

It’s the parts that work in “Girf,” rather than the whole.

Performances continue at 1308 S. New Hampshire Ave. on Wednesday and Sunday at 3 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. (213) 387-1161. Tickets: $10. The show moves to Plummer Park’s Fiesta Hall in West Hollywood on Sept. 4-27 as part of the Fringe Festival. Information: (213) 657-3270.