STAGE REVIEW : ‘Little Foxes’ Lack of Subtlety Blurs Wasting of Family Bonds

Golden West College has put plenty of poison into its production of “The Little Foxes,” enough for a basket of cobras. Or a house full of vipers.

Unfortunately, “The Little Foxes” does not live by its fangs alone.

Lillian Hellman’s 48-year-old tale of a well-off but greedy Southern clan is, admittedly, no nursery rhyme. The Hubbards are a nasty lot who enjoy sticking it to each other, especially when that sticking involves a little personal gain.

But this is more than an old-fashioned version of “Dynasty.” At its most involving, the play deals not only with selfishness but with the deteriorating familial bonds that lay the framework for an absence of morality.

Director Charles Mitchell too often blurs the point by letting the Hubbards become so outrageously blackhearted. There is little subtlety here, and without it, the play loses its revelatory edge. It’s still interesting at Golden West, but it’s just a little shallow.

The plot focuses on the grasping Hubbard brothers, Ben (played by director Mitchell) and Oscar (Dave Morris), as they scheme to make big bucks on a local cotton mill. They need $75,000 to buy a controlling share, so they ask Regina (Jillian Saeta), their equally grasping sister, to persuade Horace (Patrick Lipot), her nice-guy husband, to join in.

Horace balks when he realizes that the marriage of his daughter Alexandra (Georgia Louise Nevin) to Oscar’s cruel son, Leo (David Robb), is part of the arrangement. But Ben and Oscar won’t be deterred, and everything hits the fan sooner than you can say mint julep.

There are problems with just about all the performances. They’re not bad, really, but they are underdeveloped. Mitchell’s portrayal is the best. His Ben is both creepy exploiter and formidable patriarch. With his honeyed voice and smooth cunning, it’s easy to see how he has engineered the whole mercenary plan.

Too bad Mitchell didn’t get the other lead actors to follow his example. Morris and Saeta don’t bring enough shading to Oscar and Regina. Both are fine at showing pure malice--Saeta is a model of rapaciousness--but their performances should evoke something more. Patrick Lipot is OK as Horace, but he ought to guard against overacting during Horace’s more emotional moments.

No complaints, though, with Steven Wolff Craig’s set--an immaculate re-creation of a mansion interior--or with Susan Thomas Babb’s authentic early 1900s costumes. ‘THE LITTLE FOXES’

A Golden West College production of Lillian Hellman’s drama. Directed by Charles Mitchell. With Winifred Warga, Kirk Durard Brown, Laura Mitchell, Dave Morris, David Robb, Jillian Saeta, Ric Steiner, Georgia Louise Nevin, Patrick Lipot and Charles Mitchell. Sets by Steven Wolff Craig. Costumes by Susan Thomas Babb. Plays tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in the campus’ Mainstage Theater at 15744 Golden West St., Huntington Beach. Tickets: $4-$6. (714) 895-8378.