Howard Brenton Has a Go at Shelley’s ‘Haunted Summer’

“We poeticals” is how Percy Bysshe Shelley describes the little group of literary conspirators who gathered in Switzerland in the “haunted summer” of 1816. The others were Lord Byron, Shelley’s then-mistress Mary Godwin and her stepsister Claire Claremont.

That playwright Howard Brenton treats them as poeticals is a dramatic problem in his “Bloody Poetry” at Theatre 40. They’re constantly talking like poeticals. Surely the quartet discussed subjects other than those Brenton allows them to. However, he does fill the evening with language--more in the form of a tone poem than a drama.

This version of the frequently told events of that summer is also a faintly clouded soap box for the disenchanted Marxist playwright: “We will all go communist,” says Byron. “We’re upper-class, we can afford it.”

Brenton is sympathetic toward the group’s rose-colored attempt at communal living and free love, but his sympathies are strongest in his concern for the uselessness of their dream and the tragedies their self-centered idyll produced.

There are gratifying pleasures in the physical shape of the production under Keith Fowler’s direction. He hears the music of Brenton’s words and lets it reverberate.

J. Downing is at times a puppy dog of a Shelley, at others a firebrand youth--a fascinating performance. The pompous grandeur of Byron’s persona is nicely held in check, without becoming less than it should be, by Webster Williams, and Suzanne Goddard is a Mary Godwin, later Mary Shelley, of substance, intelligence and intriguing detail.

Christina Carlisi at first tends to flamboyance as Claire, but quickly settles into a rewarding re-creation of that strange, lost woman, and David Hunt Stafford is properly prim and disapproving as Byron’s biographer and physician, Dr. Polidori. The performance of the evening is Alison Jane Frazer’s razor-edged portrait of Shelley’s first wife Harriet; in the long monologue that begins Act II with her suicide, she is often chilling.

“Bloody Poetry,” Theatre 40, Beverly Hills High School campus, 241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 8 p.m. Ends Nov. 24. $14-$17; (213) 466-1767. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

Reed’s ‘Lullabies’ a Case History

Playwright-director Morton Reed used to be a psychologist “specializing in the treatment of violent offenders and substance abusers,” according to the program for “Lullabies” at the Burbage Theatre. This is his first effort for the stage.

“Lullabies” is not a play. It’s little more than the playing out of a case history. The action consists of a defense attorney and a psychologist questioning a woman accused of murdering her baby. Even though she confesses, we catch on right away that she’s innocent.

We also quickly catch on that her dumb, abusive ex-husband, a cop, didn’t do it either. That leaves only their pre-pubescent daughter.

Reed’s staging is as dull and undramatic as his script, and even good performances by Lisa Erickson as the woman, Patricia Estrin as the psychologist and Scott Utley as the husband can’t save it.

“Lullabies,” Burbage Theatre, 2330 Sawtelle Blvd., West Los Angeles, Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Dec. 8. $16; (310) 478-0897. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

Cooper’s Sitcom-Like ‘A Piece of My Heart’

The opening scene of Matt Cooper’s “A Piece of My Heart,” at the Odyssey Theatre, has screenwriter Mark Collins addressing a group of UCLA film students. Ignore influences like Bergman and Fellini, he says. “ Your life is interesting. I was influenced by Suzanne.”

He then describes, in flashback, how he met Suzanne in school and talked her into following him to Hollywood. She becomes a highly paid advertising executive, and he becomes a waiter, vainly trying to sell his one screenplay, “Boy Meets Girl.” After his shattered male ego destroys the relationship, he decides to go to law school to bolster his film career.

It’s little more than an autobiographical sketch (Cooper, like Mark Collins, went to UCLA Film School and Hofstra School of Law) for a sitcom screenplay, filled with cliches. Its one original note is that its hero is a blithering dolt. (Don’t confuse it with Shirley Lauro’s play of the same title that opened this week at New York’s Manhattan Theatre Club.)

Director Stewart J. Zully gives the production high energy. As Suzanne and Mark, Catherine Mary Stewart and Scott Valentine do their best to freshen up another ho-hum coming-of-age-in-Hollywood tale. Funny and inventive Maury Efrems, part of an ensemble that plays the other characters, sparks what interest there is.

“A Piece of My Heart,” Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles. Tonight and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Ends Sunday. $17.50-$21; (310) 477-2055. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

‘Metropolitan Operas’: 3 Out of 8 Isn’t Bad

Of the nine Joe Pintauro plays that make up “Metropolitan Operas” at Artafax, eight were on view the other night. Only three held interest, despite generally solid performances throughout the evening. The others ranged from dull to pretentious. But three isn’t bad for a showcase like this.

Two of the plays reflect the background of Pintauro, a former priest. “Birds in Church” has two young priests (John Prosky, Kevin Kilner) at Greenwich Village’s St. Joseph’s, chasing two birds about the nave, wondering if they’re the Holy Spirit come to pontificate. It’s a bit of whimsy that has insight and compassion.

“Rules of Love,” acted with the same understanding and lightness by Colette Lawson and George Dobosh, describes the skirmish between a priest in the confessional and the woman who comes in because it’s the only place she can have a serious talk with her lover --the priest.

The third winner is “Rosen’s Son,” a touching moment that finds a Jewish father (Pierre Epstein) visiting his late son’s lover (Bill Carmichael) and finding himself upset that the lover has re-married so soon. Laura Henry directs all of the pieces with honesty and style, but these are the only ones that rise above the inconsequential.

“Metropolitan Operas,” Artafax, 4988 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends Nov. 23. $12.50; (213) 660-TKTS. Running time: 2 hours.

‘Sparks’ Ignites None at West End Playhouse

As Act II of “Sparks,” at West End Playhouse, begins, a character named Professor Tilly says: “Thank you for coming back after intermission. I’m sure you thought about it.”

Yes, we did.

Tilly is a tour guide through an imaginary place called Sparks. She introduces the audience to various characters, all (including Tilly) played by Jill Wachholz, who also wrote the piece. They all sound very much like Wachholz, at various speeds and volume levels.

Sparks is where people find the sparks that allow them self-expression and teach them tolerance. The former is all over the stage, the latter is hard-come-by sitting through it.

The juvenile material and performance are a far cry from Wachholz’s work in “Just Between You and Me,” seen locally in 1988, but that was co-created with Janet Lazarus, which may be the difference. Estimable director Mark W. Travis isn’t able to do much with this silly effort.

“Sparks,” West End Playhouse, 7446 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Ends Dec. 4. $12.50; (818) 904-0444. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.