THEATER REVIEW : ‘Uncrowned Prince’ Plays Slow and Loose : Original play struggles with the themes of self-determination and dignity in an unfocused, sprawling Santa Ana staging.

Eastern Boys Productions of Santa Ana is presenting an original play by R.A. Blankenship Jr. and Kevin Darne entitled “Irony of an Uncrowned Prince.” Although the play’s themes of self-determination and essential human dignity are worthy and challenging, the production is loose and unfocused, as is the script, which tends toward repetition and explanation rather than action.

The dialogue has an improvisational feel, as if there’s a general timetable for each of the play’s events and each actor is responsible for arriving there on his or her own.

Only Jacquelyn Levy makes this work. She brings humor and compassion to her strong and precise portrayal of the grandmother, Rosa.

Rosa is looking after her grandson, Tony (played by Blankenship), an actor and reluctant car salesman.

The play charts a day in Tony’s life, a day so full of life-changing events it would put the average 2 hours of soap opera to shame. But the drama boils down to lots of talk.

One scene alone--in which Rosa tries to help Tony extricate himself from a host of bad situations--has the spark of life, thanks to Levy and to Blankenship, whose expressive face and luminous eyes are princely indeed.

There’s a healthy variety of performers in the company, but much of their individuality is blotted out by the sprawling yawn of the oversize stage, where the furniture is distributed rather than arranged.

The whitewash of lighting that illuminates more of the back wall than the actors, contributes to the hypnotic blandness of the physical production.

Some clearheaded editing and a refocus of the lights would go a long way toward getting this newborn play up and walking. And another scene between Rosa and Tony would be welcome. Their relationship is the heart of the play, and the pulse is palpable when the focus is on them.

‘IRONY OF AN UNCROWNED PRINCE’

An Eastern Boys Productions presentation of a drama by R.A. Blankenship Jr. and Kevin Darne. Directed by Mellow Martin. With Nathan Daniels, Sandra Marsh, Jacquelyn Levy, Tim Bagley, Mellow Martin and Fran Larrison. Technical direction: Marcus E. Blankenship. Tickets $10.