STAGE REVIEW : A Morality Tale in ‘Don’t Get God Started’

That rousing gospel concert/morality play “Don’t Get God Started” has returned to Los Angeles, at the Pantages. Two elements immediately distinguish this version from the one that played the Beverly Theatre in 1986.

First, the musical leads are played by the composer, Marvin Winans, and his wife Vickie Winans. They’re stars within gospel circles, and Vickie in particular projects the presence of a glittery pop diva.

Her voice is long on power and short on subtlety, particularly when overmiked. She leaves the audience gasping in the last moment of the show, when--after a couple of teasing false starts--her voice swoops up through her entire register in one enormous breath.

But beyond her voice, her look is extraordinary, especially as costumed by Victoria Shaffer in a series of glamorous, broad-shouldered outfits. The visual message: Don’t get Vickie started.

The second element that makes the return of this show so fascinating is the fact that Los Angeles has seen “Checkmates” in the interim. Ron Milner wrote both scripts, and they have much in common.

In both shows, an older couple tsk-tsks about the younger generation, while the representatives of that younger generation--obsessed with self and materialism--proceed to dismantle their marriages. In “Checkmates,” the younger woman at one point pulled a gun on her husband; here two younger women do the same.

The differences, too, are illuminating. The symptoms of malaise among the young folks are more starkly drawn here, and more specifically analyzed as addictions. The solutions to their problems are also more vividly and simplistically drawn. In most cases, the answer is Jesus. The one character who’s most hostile to Jesus commits suicide, in a scene that takes the melodrama way over the top.

It’s as if “Don’t Get God Started” is the church-approved version and “Checkmates” is the secular.

By introducing many more characters and teaching them all the same lesson, the musical is inherently more superficial than the play. But it has some of the same passion and comic facility that was evident in “Checkmates.”

And the cast knows how to handle a theater the size of the Pantages--don’t hold back. As most of the actors play more than one role, they strive mightily to differentiate their characters, and they do it well. The principal acting roles are played by Conni Marie Brazelton, Marvin Wright-Bey, Ella Joyce and Duane Shepard Sr.

Each vignette is followed by more singing (sometimes accompanied by overwrought pantomimes from the actors), designed to bring home the message. The Winanses do most of the solos and duets, a few of which could be interpolated into a secular setting without many changes, and they raise the roof on several occasions.

But one of the most charming moments in the show is when Ernie Banks and Marilyn Coleman, who have been trapped in the formulaic roles of the older couple, suddenly take center stage for their own sung duet, “Millions.” It’s a quieter, jazzier number, without the obvious hand mikes that the Winanses use. Coleman, in particular, unveils a remarkably wide-ranging voice. Steven Ford is the musical director.

At 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m., Sundays at 7:30 p.m., through May 7. Tickets: $21.50-$28.50; (213) 410-1062 or (714) 634-1300.