Nightmarish ‘Red Sneaks’

The title is upbeat, even cute, but “The Red Sneaks,” Elizabeth Swados’ unsettling musical at the L.A. Connection Theatre in Sherman Oaks, is not for children. It’s aimed at an underserved audience--teens. Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Red Shoes,” it’s a nightmare tour through teen Angst and addiction, orchestrated by none other than the devil himself.

Compactly staged on one of the smallest stages in town, with a minimal set--shoes hang from a volleyball net, more shoes are the only props--the production is heavy, dark and often overwrought as it touches on children killing children, child abuse and the lure of a fast segue into the material world through drugs and sex.

Swados’ disturbing vision of adolescence as a battlefield between good and evil is grounded in reality, however; she shocks to make teens think about choices and their consequences. Director Lisa Sludikoff, 17, and her earnest and talented young actors--the youngest is 14, the others around 20--have put heart and soul into the production--with credible results.

Stefanie Ridel is Dedre, a teen eager to escape her gritty life in a Hollywood hotel with her aunt and the aunt’s creepy boyfriend. Sensing easy pickings, the devil (Chris Parsons) offers Dedre a pair of magic sneakers that will dance her into a world of money, glamour and power. The price is her innocence and, eventually, her life.

The devil’s corrupt tour includes a Carnival of Sin and the hellish Sneaker Prison from which Dedre makes a doomed bid for freedom.

Sludikoff and Gines’ group choreography is effectively realized in the limited space and pianist Michael Hochstetler’s offstage accompaniment is a strong plus. On the down side, there’s none of the leavening humor Swados intended, some of the shoe business is blurry, Ridel’s solo dance spots lack punch and a prolonged strobe light segment is overkill (Jaime Sludikoff did the lights).

But Lisa Sludikoff’s aggressive staging and the cast’s training, confidence and vocal strengths work well for it--Landau has a particularly moving soprano. The company’s intense commitment to the work, in fact, is part of its poignancy.

“The Red Sneaks.” L.A. Connection Theatre, 13442 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, Friday, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, 4:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. Ends Feb. 16. $10; (818) 789-6562.