A Critical Overview: The Best of Theater ’89

Dame Edith Evans once said, “We shall get people back into the theater again when we are able to enchant them.” There are some stocking stuffer memories from the past few months which did just that.

They were new plays, two of them world premieres, and in each case distinguished by the freshness of material, approach and execution. And all proof that fresh voices are out there, waiting to be heard.

Theatre West’s production of Thomas Strelich’s “Neon Psalms,” set the tone, a forceful and often comic look at what happens to dreams after they’ve faded in the hot sun of California’s high desert, and Chris Matthews’ “A Flag to Fly,” a stunning short play at the Celtic Arts Center about Irish soldiers condemned as traitors during the 1846-48 Mexican-American War kept up the pace.

Two world premieres also made their marks, beginning with Colin Patrick Lynch’s “One-Eyed Jacks and Suicide Kings” (Beverly Hills Playhouse). This first play by a 21-year-old playwright recalls the desperation of poker players losing their dreams. Dexter Freeman’s “Skies a’ Fallin’ ” (Court Theatre) etched a strong portrait of other kinds of players not sure what court their game is in.

There were also some fine moments in Dan Bell’s “The Shot” (Olio Theatre), particularly in the scenes between two struggling young actors, played by the author and Gill Gayle, in which the comically perceptive dialogue sparkled with freshness.

These plays are tied together by a common thread: inventive, original concepts and writing, searching into the souls of their inhabitants with wit and empathy. All use humor to ease the pain of their characters’ struggles, all enchant.

Dame Edith would be pleased.