A Washington ‘Phantom’

Gross National Product is back, newly opened at the Cast in the late-night political revue “The Phantom of the White House.”

“The theme of the (title sketch) is that whoever is elected will be haunted by the present Administration,” said John Simmons, a writer/director with the dual-based (Washington and Los Angeles) company. “We have Duke and Kitty and Barbara and George Bush. And we have a series of debates--which are improvised, with suggestions from the audience. Ted Koppel moderates Duke and Bush, and Morton Downey gets the women into a blood lust.”

Also on the topical agenda: “A little tribute to Jesse (since 22% of Los Angeles public schoolchildren wanted Jesse Jackson to be President), a scandal tour of Washington, a parody of the McLaughlin Group, a Hollywood party/fund-raiser, ‘Wall Street Week’ and a tribute to Ed Meese.”

Added Simmons: “These media phenomena are popping up all the time--and our job is to keep up with them. Of course, they’re the purists. We’re derivative.”

When it comes to big families, David Hall knows his subject. “I’m the oldest of eight children,” said the actor/playwright, whose “Taproot” opened last week at the Cast. (Definition of taproot : “a primary root that grows vertically downward and gives off small lateral roots.”) Robert Schrock directs.

At issue in the play (about a family with six grown children) are the problems each character has in “coming to terms with those strong ties that family members carry with them--whether they’re with each other or not. When they do get together, there’s so much to say that doesn’t get said; it hovers in the air above them. The communication is tense: either silence or stammering to say something--and nothing really comes out.”

Although it’s obviously fertile ground for Hall, he notes that the play came about “by accident. I was doing an acting workshop and getting tired of doing other people’s work--so I started writing a scene between two brothers. It was so well received by the class, I was encouraged to see what else came up. One-and-a-half years later, out came this play.” The biggest insight? “That what’s important to me is worth writing about.”

CRITICAL CROSSFIRE: “El Salvador” (at the Gnu Theatre in North Hollywood) is the setting for Rafael Lima’s drama about six reporters covering the war in Central America. Jeff Seymour directs.

Said Sylvie Drake in The Times: “What we get is an emotional mega-crunch--a trash compactor grinding up a caldron of raw nerves. Powerful stuff, uncompromisingly rendered by this first-rank ensemble of actors--and unflatteringly masculine.”

From the Herald Examiner’s Richard Stayton: “Playwright Lima shrewdly raises the stakes through character conflict, makes horrific statistics come vividly alive. The playful ‘Animal House’ structure crumbles under the weight of these terrible facts.”

Drama-Logue’s Lee Melville concluded his review: “No one should miss this production, because it demonstrates how even a play of tough fiber can be given texture of such high quality; an excellent rendering deserved by only the finest writing.”

Noted the Reader’s Deborah Klugman: “Cynicism, corruption, alcoholism, lechery, fear, idealism, and despair: It’s all there for the viewing. The characterizations are rich, the performances solid, the production values excellent.”

A thumbs down from L.A. Weekly’s Ruben Martinez: “Director Seymour and his leads lose the reins during the too-many shouting matches, and Lima’s dialogue lacks variance in tone--he’s about as subtle as the helicopter sound track that shakes the rafters.”

From Jody Leader in the Daily News: “Lima’s script is carefully wrought: ‘El Salvador’ is a slice-of-life one-act play that focuses more on characterization than plot development. His protagonists are larger than life, genuine, vulnerable and funny.”