STAGE REVIEWS : Lefcourt’s ‘Ronde’ Serves Up Satire on Power Lunches

Arthur Schnitzler’s “La Ronde” followed a circle of romantic encounters through fin de siecle Vienna. A century later, Peter Lefcourt’s “La Ronde de Lunch” follows a circle of power tetes-a-tetes at Le Pueblo della Venezia, a fashionable restaurant on Melrose Avenue.

It’s a clever idea for an extended sketch, but it has been over-extended in its two-act form at Actors Alley in North Hollywood.

The characters who take turns meeting for lunch at the table on center stage include an actress (Diane Warren), a producer (Tony Rizzoli), a studio executive (Mary Baldwin), an agent (Stuart Fratkin), a real estate broker (Leslie Simms), a screenwriter (Bill Raulerson), a personal fitness counselor (Lois E. Masten), a lawyer (John Shaw), a bimbo (Sharri Hefner) and a star named Mel (Joe Garcia).

After each encounter, one of the two diners moves on to the next lunch. In each scene, one of the characters grasps for something that the other might have.

The scenes are connected by an overlapping narrative, but those connections become looser as the play goes on. The pretexts for a couple of the lunches in Act II are downright flimsy.

Meanwhile, the satire slackens as the play continues. Once the novelty of the Schnitzler interpolation wears off, we notice that the whole idea of poking fun at Hollywood lunches is rather stale.

Five “Bruces” serve the lunches, accompanied by lots of attitude, and also serve as a Greek chorus of singing commentators between scenes. Again, an amusing idea is taken beyond its ability to amuse.

The performances are of mixed quality; Raulerson does best at taking his characterization beyond his lines. Jeremiah Morris directed on a stage, designed by Starbuck, that has a few witty touches but looks a bit impoverished for such an overpriced joint.

With memories of the scathingly funny “Road to Nirvana” (which just closed at the Odyssey) still zinging through the brain, it’s hard to get excited about Lefcourt’s milder jabs at the Hollywood ethos.

“La Ronde de Lunch,” Actors Alley, 12135 Riverside Drive, North Hollywood, Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends April 26. $15. (818) 508-4200. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes.