STAGE REVIEWS / OPEN FESTIVAL : Excessive Background Saps ‘Immigrants Tale’
The improbable task of blending the stories of five sets of recent immigrants to the United States defeats the creators of “Journeys: The Immigrants Tale” at Lankershim Art Center. The human thrust that each of the stories might have is minimized in Kimberly Heinrichs’ script, buried under a barrage of background data that would better remain in the stage directions.
The strongest stories are the simplest: an athletic coach from Russia who likes the lifestyle here although he loves his mother country, and a civilian guard for American forces in West Berlin who follows a dream to America. Ed Thomas is touching as the latter because of the elegant simplicity of his European manner.
Most of the histories, told in fractured monologues, are cliched, but Maria Gil-de-Montes gives her Honduran mother individuality with her honesty, and Joy Lazo bubbles as a South Vietnamese teen-ager who becomes Americanized in a flash.
The bare planks of the script defeat director Sally Shore’s efforts. They’re still a kit waiting for an instruction sheet.
At 5108 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; Fridays & Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m.; ends Sept. 23. $14; (213) 559-6894.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
