Tone Poem to an Anguished Generation

“I’m in my 20s, what’s your problem?”

So asks playwright Betsy F. Thomas. She doesn’t try to lay out any solutions in “Us & Them,” at the Hudson Theatre, but she does paint an incisive portrait of her generation. They’re in between the yuppies and the self-indulgent MTV teens. Maybe they should be called the Convenience Generation. Everything has been so easy for them--up to the point of meeting the world head-on.

It’s easier to order-in food than to do the dishes. It’s easier to sit home, get stoned and rent a flick than to face reality. It’s easier to give up than to try. There’s some room on the credit card, that’ll take care of tonight.

Roommates Bee (Anne Heche), Jay (Dana Ashbrook), Stu (Donovan Leitch) and Moe (Brendan Smith) exist, and that’s about all. They came to Los Angeles because the “industry” is here. They’re gainfully employed, but never have a cent. They’re bored, angry--and scared.

Thomas doesn’t say every twentysomething type is like this. Their friend Jim (Matt Roth) is handling life like a champ. He brings them sandwiches and beer, and keeps them afloat. They laugh at him, groan about their fate when he leaves, yet dismiss his threat to let them sink by themselves.

“Us & Them” is not so much a play--with beginning, middle and end--as it is a tone poem. Long scenes depicting boredom and anger fade and recur, sometimes abruptly interrupted by quick flashes of private moments separated by blackouts, only to continue from another angle when the lights come up.

The playwright co-directed with Matthew Richter, and the result is sharp and clear, and brightly illuminates the tick-tock feeling of twentysomething ambition running down. The performances are heartfelt and true. Thomas not only has empathy for her characters, but sees the underlying humor, and the cast is adept at making that humor sparkle.

“Us & Them,” Hudson Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Wednesdays, 8 p.m.; Fridays-Saturdays, 10:30 p.m. Ends April 11. $10; (213) 651-2203. Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes.

Bishop’s ‘The Wheel’ a Trio of One-Acts

In a program note, the American Indian medicine wheel is credited as the inspiration for Barbara Bishop’s “The Wheel,” at Carpet Company Stage.

Two spirits about to return to human form want to view human life in the ‘90s--from mental, physical and emotional perspectives--before taking the plunge. It’s a clever idea, but it’s also a pretentious way to make three one-acts into a play. They stand alone in spite of the attempt.

“The Mental Arena” is a slice of “Love American Style,” about two attorneys sorting out a divorce case who try to make a date through the legalese they can’t help speaking. Robin Dearden and Kelley Hinman are just fine juggling the dialogue, finding its fun.

A one-night stand, its rights and wrongs, is at the core of “The Physical Arena.” Bishop doesn’t say much that’s new about these ‘90s singles that pass in the night, but Callan White as the lonely woman and Bryan Cranston as her overnight swain find all the warmth and quiet Angst in their early morning revelations, and the humor with which Bishop views them. She also scores points for presenting both sides of the case.

The best writing of the three pieces is in “The Emotional Arena,” which finds Cranston as a Vietnam vet in a wheelchair, checking old classmates into a high school reunion. He was a geek in school, who melts when his dream girl walks in and doesn’t remember him. She married the star jock, now deceased, and is having a rough time handling it. Their rough times collide, their vulnerability reigns, and they look like a couple that should live in a longer, fuller play.

Dearden and Cranston are charmers in this last piece, which, like the others, is astutely directed by Gale Salus, and looks very good on Douglas D. Smith’s clever fold-out set.

“The Wheel,” Carpet Company Stage, 5262 W. Pico Blvd. Fridays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends March 29. $12; (213) 466-1767. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

A Heartfelt ‘Sweet Sufferings’

The women in Layce Gardner’s “Sweet Sufferings,” at the Celebration Theatre, aren’t steel magnolias. But they aren’t far off. The difference is they’re farther west, in Happy Union, Tex.--and they’re lesbians.

Well, Peg (Debra D’Amato) and Sary (playwright Gardner) admit to it. They share a house and a life. That, however, doesn’t keep libidinous Tina (Gale Van Cott) from prying her way between them, as she has done for several years. But she isn’t, she loudly claims, a lesbian. Sure. Slightly dingy chatterbox Dede (Tammy Goolsbey) and newly pregnant young Sueanne (Carin Badger) don’t talk much about it, but they watch closely, and wind up--well, that’s part of the sweet suffering.

This is the kind of comedy that used to be a staple on Broadway--except for the specifics--before television. It’s simple and mildly charming, and the solid performances are well directed by Marita Simpson. Its heart is in the right place, it has a happy ending and some genuine laughs.

“Sweet Sufferings,” Celebration Theatre, 7051-B Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Indefinitely. $15; (213) 660-TKTS. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

‘The Only Thing’ No Three-Pointer

Written like a screenplay, Craig Alpaugh’s “The Only Thing,” at Group Repertory Theatre, not only needs more focus to feel like a theater piece, but needs a dramaturge to straighten out some of its illogic.

Coach Smooch, probably the dumbest coach on the college basketball circuit, thinks he can make it without playing the unethical game of bonuses and grade-fixing. But then his assistant Ira finally persuades him to join everyone else in college athletics. They dig up Fidel Castro Smith, a high school star, and finagle him into their school and a winning season. Of course, Fidel can’t even sign his own name, and his illiteracy finally hits the fan.

Larry Kelley directs very loosely and loses even the valid moments in Alpaugh’s script, but strong performances by Robert Gallo as Ira, Louis Herthum as Smooch, and especially Haven Mitchell as Fidel help a little. Pamela Roberts is also good as Fidel’s mother, who starts to teach him to read at the final curtain. Where was Mama when he was in first grade?

“The Only Thing,” Group Repertory Theatre, 10900 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends April 11. $15; (818) 769-PLAY. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Production KOs ‘Kid Champion’

Thomas Babe’s “Kid Champion,” at the Zephyr Theatre, isn’t Babe’s best. It’s a ground level view of a monumental rock star’s peak and collapse, and it all looks pretty simplistic from that angle.

To make matters worse, this is a shoestring production, with metal chairs and a bridge table for furniture--projected slides on the back wall tell us where we are. And it’s directed by Peter Conti like untied shoestrings, floppy and tripping up the actors at every turn. They wander aimlessly, unless they’re lined up across the stage, and they are a clear example of what the Method is like without a bit of technique to control it--mumble, mumble, mumble, screech.

Producers Joe Pesci and Waldo Sanchez should have kept a closer eye on their production.

“Kid Champion,” Zephyr Theatre, 7458 Melrose Ave., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends April 12. $12-$16; (310) 285-3179. Running time: 3 hours.