STAGE REVIEW : ‘Virtus’ Artfully Examines the State of Manliness

Drums in the forest. Initiation rituals. Reaching out to dad.

With images like these, the modern men’s movement is ready made for theatricalization. Here comes “Virtus” at the Odyssey Theatre: a theater piece specifically indebted to the work of Robert Bly and his confreres--and presented in association with an organization called the Lost Dog Men’s Council.

The title refers to manliness , and the show is a collection of sketches and choreographed songs on the subject of what that word does or does not mean.

As an impressionistic sampler and a living demonstration of the manly energy that Bly admires, “Virtus” is an engrossing spectacle. Writer-director Gregg Loughridge, who first staged the piece in Seattle, has drilled his local cast to perfection.

Yet at only one hour’s running time, and with no single sketch lasting more than a few minutes, “Virtus” also has a once-over-lightly quality. Just when the piece should be building up the steam that would take it beyond the superficial, into areas that haven’t already been explored at great length in other media, it ends.

The staging has an austere beauty. Loughridge and his design team (Michael Olich did the set, Frances Kenny the costumes, Meg Fox and Sindy Slater the lights) have a penchant for shadows, silhouettes and slides. An otherwise hackneyed father-son dialogue suggests intimations of mythic power because the father (Thom McCleister) appears only as a silent silhouette in a doorway, responding to his son’s (Nathan “Angelo” Holland) complaints with subtle shifts of his lumbering body instead of with words.

There is also a saving sense of humor at work here. A few of the pieces could have come from a Groundlings revue. Two divorce attorneys (Holland, Robert Crow) insert fierce martial arts moves into their smoothly professional verbal jousting. Masturbation is the subject of a sea chantey (not to be confused with another, murkier song about “Long John”).

Throughout, the cast’s mostly a cappella singing, anchored by the solid bass of Dan Gerrity, is impeccable. The men move and use their props--sticks and basketballs occasionally serve as metaphors for parts of their anatomy--with grace and precision.

The most unsettling scene is a monologue in which one of the guys (Ben Prager) recalls a lonely night when he found himself in the middle of a rape fantasy. It’s the kind of scene that could take the show into truly provocative territory, but there is nothing else to match its eyebrow-raising quality. The show is told from a predominantly heterosexual perspective, with barely a passing nod to homophobia, let alone homosexuality.

“Virtus” might have a powerful impact on men who haven’t thought about any of its issues. Are these men likely to buy tickets to see it? I doubt it.

* “Virtus,” Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.; matinees, Feb. 16 and March 1, 3 p.m. Ends March 1. $15.50-$19.50. (310) 477-2055. Running time: 1 hour.