STAGE REVIEW : ‘Skies a’ Fallin’ ’ Premieres at Court Theatre

The backdrop of Dexter Freeman’s “Skies a’ Fallin’ ” is familiar. So, vaguely, are the characters. But in this world premiere production at the Court Theatre, a new twist is given to the old steamy night in New Orleans on the eve of Mardi Gras.

It’s a tight little tale about a husband and wife stumbling toward their 40s and fracturing their relationship over their childlessness, and the guitar-toting 17-year-old street kid who pulls them apart and then puts them back together again. Looks like Tennessee Williams? Look again.

“Skies” is deceptively light in its early stages, with a thermometer in Lou Sistrunk’s mouth to make sure she is ovulating, and her campy neighbor Hertizine, called The Diva, helping set the stage for the evening’s planned conception. Tagging along with Diva is the teen-aged C. L., also known as “Chicken Little,” who wants only a night’s shelter from the falling sky.

But the best laid plans go awry, in this instance with JoJo Sistrunk’s announcement that he is, and always has been, sterile.

Freeman sets up his pre-Mardi Gras frolic neatly and with a great deal of humor and firm characterizations. Lou is a waitress supporting her artist husband, and actress Gwen Banta makes a loving if desperate figure of her. She gives Lou a rewarding complexity that keeps her from being ordinary.

The other performance that gives the production its distinction is that of Douglas Bryant Johnson as C. L., a horrendous role to make work theatrically while still winning sympathy. Johnson knows the kid’s soft spots and lets us see them.

Richard Arbolino is less effective as the husband, but the overbrimming enthusiasm of Marie Lillo’s Diva could only be improved by a little more subtlety.

Dan Mason’s direction keeps the energy high and shapes the action and twists of plot beautifully, allowing the general lightness to give a nice glow to the deeper emotions below. Set and lighting design by Robert W. Zentis, Maggie Peach’s costumes, Leonora Schildkraut’s music and sound, are of the high standard these designers maintain.

At 722 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, Thursdays through Sundays, 8 p.m., through Jan. 14. Tickets: $15 - 20; (213) 466-1767.