Ponderous Production Skewers ‘Little Sister’

The current fascination with film noir and hard-boiled detective fiction continues with Hollywood Actors Theatre’s production of Stuart Gordon and Carolyn Purdy-Gordon’s adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s “The Little Sister.”

The bare-bones production, director Ernest Kearney’s snail-like pacing and Dennis Garber’s Philip Marlowe--who acts more like Willy Loman--do a disservice to Chandler and our memories of the crisp, jagged edge of the genre. This “Sister” is ponderous, overacted by most of the cast, often under bright light from a bare white bulb hanging center stage.

Jill Ann Kaiser is effective in the title role even though she loses her performing cool in her final 30 seconds. One out of a large cast is not a good percentage.

“The Little Sister,” Hollywood Actors Theatre, 1157 McCadden Place, Hollywood; Saturdays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends July 7. $10; (213) 462-9070. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.