‘At Home’ Argument Is Highlight of ‘Three Acts’

For the first time, Gnu Theatre’s artistic director Jeff Seymour has relinquished his director’s reins, to associate Daniel Rojo. But Seymour is appearing in two of the three well-chosen, well-written and well-acted one-acts at the Gnu.

The highlight of “Three Acts of One Acts” is Michael Weller’s “At Home,” a dissection of an argument during the sixth year of a marriage. Paul (Seymour) and Carol (Jane Rogers) are preparing for dinner guests. Carol has poked one of Paul’s salad carrots with a pencil. You don’t do that. It’s not hygienic. And it’s about as minuscule an action as any that might cause an argument.

Weller examines the fight minutely--its violence, its regretted threats, its true and false admissions of past transgressions and its inevitable comic moments to which, of course, Paul and Carol are blind. It is a fine piece of writing, making a moment in time meaningful and illuminating.

Seymour and Rogers hold onto the emotional toboggan with both hands, not missing a turn or a bump in their progress through the argument’s rapidly shifting course. Their quiet fury is as telling as their volatile outbursts.

In the opener, Don Nigro’s “Specter,” Seymour and Rogers are two strangers, trapped during a rainstorm in a ditched auto. Andrew barely missed hitting Marla on a deserted road after, she claims, her boyfriend abandoned her. Nigro’s dialogue is fresh and clever, placing layer upon layer of game-playing on this simple set-up, and the actors are in tune with the dangerous hide-and-seek.

Director Rojo is expert at finding the inner core of these pieces, and their sparkling surfaces. He also turns what amounts to nicely written sitcom, in Matthew Nelson’s “Patients,” into something better, assisted by Tom Dahlgren as an overly talkative older hospital patient, playwright Nelson as his younger victim and Kajon Cermak as Dahlgren’s daughter.

“Three Acts of One Acts,” Gnu Theatre, 10426 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. Thursdays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends April 26. $15-$20; (818) 508-5344. Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes.

A Dated, Disjointed ‘Christmas on Mars’

Harry Kondoleon’s black comedy “Christmas on Mars,” about early-’80s relationships and lifestyles (and seen at South Coast Repertory in 1983), looks a bit dated now, particularly in this disjointed production at the Tamarind Theatre.

Director Gaby Rodgers hasn’t done much to illuminate the play or its wild and crazy action, or its style. Style is the biggest problem. Neither Rodgers nor her company have much, except for Delbert Highlands. As the hero’s ex-lover, who insinuates himself into everyone else’s life, Highlands is at least within shouting distance of stylish comedy.

“Christmas on Mars,” Tamarind Theatre, 5919 Franklin Ave., Hollywood. Mondays-Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Ends March 11. $12; (213) 466-1767. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.

‘Juana’ Gives Brief Glimpse of Mad Queen

Mexican playwright Miguel Sabido’s “La Falsa Cronica de Juana la Loca”(“Juana, Mad Queen of Spain: A False Chronicle,” translated by Margaret Stocker) is in truth a chronicle more than it is a play. Though this Theatre Teatro production at BFA’s Little Theatre is lovely to look at, and staged with imagination and fire by Margarita Galban, the playwright barely gives us a glimpse of the tragic daughter of Queen Isabel.

Juana, who became Queen of Castile but never sat on the throne, was an early, heartbreaking victim of sex discrimination: her father and her son claimed she was mad, to further their own political ends.

What connection we make with the inner emotions of Juana comes from the performance of Denise Blasor (alternating with Eugenia Cross). Blasor’s rage (which Juana excuses because she is “Spanish and a Scorpio!”) is as impressive as her tender affection for her ill-fated husband (understudy Michael Valdes at the performance reviewed), whose decomposing body she follows in a lengthy progress throughout Spain.

This “false chronicle” allows some overindulgent performances, along with the good, and leaves one hungry for more than the glimpse it gives of its protagonist.

“La Falsa Cronica de Juana la Loca,” BFA’s Little Theatre, 421 N. Avenue 19, Los Angeles. English and Spanish versions alternate weekly. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends March 22. $10-$15; (213) 225-4044. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.

‘Pip’s’ Tripped Up on Too-Large Stage

For Joanne Gordon’s adaptation of Dickens’ “Great Expectations,” California Repertory Company has moved into a larger theater at Cal State Long Beach. But “Pip’s Trip” may have fared better in the group’s smaller theater next door. The production is spread too thin on this wide stage.

Gordon directed her own adaptation--with sluggish tempos, and no variation in rhythms or tone. Some good performances help but don’t salvage the lengthy evening.

Nathan Morales and Blake Steury, as respectively the younger and older Pip, shine in their self-effacing naivete. Gregory Mortensen gives a richly toned performance as Joe, and Gary Armagnac is a fine, Dickensian Jaggers. Penelope Miller Lindblom is OK as a Martita Hunt-flavored Miss Havisham, but could do with a few coats less makeup, and Kimberly Seder is a touching older Estella.

The accents are all true (except for Russell St. Clair’s pure Americanese as Wemmick) but the tale’s excitement is lost in Gordon’s careless guidance.

“Pip’s Trip,” Cal Rep, Cal State Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; March 4, 2 p.m. Ends March 7. $8-$14; (310) 985-5526. Running time: 3 hours.

Vlahos Takes Detour to ‘Weill Thoughts’

Stephanie Vlahos, a Music Center Opera regular, will also be remembered for this detour into the world of Kurt Weill, in “Weill Thoughts” at Cafe Largo.

Not all of the program is successful. She misfires on two comedy numbers from Weill’s “Lady in the Dark,” “The Saga of Jenny” and “Tschaikowsky.” Vlahos opts for cutesy, which is not comedy.

Her rich, vibrant soprano finds better material in a couple of Weill’s other Broadway hits, “Lonely House,” from “Street Scene,” and the title song from “Lost In the Stars.” Weill’s dream was to write for Broadway, and he did it magnificently.

But his fame will probably rest on his Berlin period. This is also where Vlahos is in her glory. When she cocks a wicked eye at the audience with such numbers as “Seerauberjenny” and “Moritat vom Mackie Messer” from “The Threepenny Opera,” and “Bilbaosong” from “Happy End,” she is hypnotic. The effect of her renditions of some of Weill’s cabaret songs is also memorable.

Actor/dancer George De La Pena helps her on and off with costumes, and reacts silently to her lyrical taunts, looking very much as if he’s doing a favor for a friend. Note that the show starts almost an hour after the announced time to allow for food and drink service.

“Weill Thoughts,” Cafe Largo, 432 N. Fairfax, Los Angeles. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Ends March 26. $9; (213) 852-1073. Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes.