Stage Reviews : THE SET’S THE TOPPER IN ‘BRUSH WITH FATE’

Innocuous and sleek, “A Brush With Fate” at the West Coast Ensemble Theater registers a modicum of charm, dealing with a “Topper”-like character in a swank milieu derivative of 1930s screwball comedies.

Ultimately, however, the lingering interest is Josee Lemonnier’s beautifully textured set design. She has created the kind of chic salon-apartment, complete with a great brick-glass window and huge urns which perfectly inform the life of the protagonist artist and his elitist friends. Lemonnier’s set is ample evidence that physical design can, up to a point, keep a play afloat while it’s springing leaks.

Playwright Joan Ravenna deals well enough with fantasy. William Bumiller is engaging as the flustered husband/painter, invisible to others. But the premise wears thin and playwright Ravenna’s double role as the artist’s wife is played so dim and dippy that her later wisdom is unconvincing.

Spencer Beglarian’s platinum peacock steals every scene in which he appears. The other major characters--an agent (overripe Helene Winston), a drama critic (nerdish Peter Sprague) and an incredibly irritable friend (Sarah Jane Moody)--are pretty tortuous. The director is Michael T. Weiss. The theater is stifling without electric fans, but the ambiance and terraced sightlines are among Equity Waiver’s best.

Performances at 6240 Hollywood Blvd. Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m., Sundays, 7 p.m., through Sept. 27. Tickets, $12.50; (213) 465-0070.