‘Running of Grunions’: Delicate Creatures

A good title is suggestive. “The Running of the Grunions” is about neurotic creatures of habit.

Beginning playwright Lori Romero’s drama centers on two quirky sisters, a ne’er-do well but loving brother, and their mom, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.

The production at the Flight Theatre is sensitive and well researched in its depiction of Alzheimer’s. As the disoriented mother, Mary Boucher negotiates memory lapses with credibility, and director David J. Partington’s cast captures the nervous fear that grips the disease’s second victims, the families who must deal with it.

Alzheimer’s is really a leitmotif for the emotional stress of the sisters. One is annoyingly fatuous, and the role’s mannered cuteness is badly overplayed by Shari Ballard. The other sister is a genuine wreck who makes you wince in a terrific portrayal by Juli Donald.

The brother (nice job by understudy Christopher Marcantel at the performance attended) is a cliche role too reliant on smart one-liners. A divorced husband who pops up (an earnest Walter McDowell) gives the production a momentary masculine ballast it desperately needs.

At 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., today and Saturday, 8 p.m., ends Sunday at 7 p.m. $12. (213) 464-2124.