STAGE REVIEW : 3 Plays Without Much Direction

Saddleback College is presenting three one-act plays directed by students, but the direction is largely invisible.

The first play on the bill is William Mastrisimone’s “A Tantalizing” which, on paper at least, explores the relationship between a young woman, who is struggling through a prolonged mourning for her dead father, and an eccentric homeless person who reminds her of him.

The woman prepares a feast of dishes for the man, who cannot be satisfied. He heaps her with abuse, shifting abruptly now and then into a fantasy in which he wheels and deals on a dead telephone he carries around in his dilapidated briefcase.

Mastrisimone has provided grist for a relationship--unpoetic, predictable grist, but raw material nonetheless. But under Lissa Herrera’s direction, what goes on between these two characters is practically incomprehensible. One only can wonder why the young woman, played with posturing bravado by Teresa Brancaleone, puts up with the man’s invective. He’s getting a meal out of it, at least, but what on earth is she getting?

Marcus Perrenoud makes no discernible attempt to play a man old enough to be the woman’s father and, moreover, half the time he cannot be understood. A catalogue of details is neglected and humor is unearthed only inadvertently, when events become so unbelievable that one can only laugh.

*

The second presentation, “It’s Called the Sugar Plum,” is a step up from the first, thanks partly to Israel Horowitz’s clever script and partly to the superior efforts of the student artists. Michael Gene Brown directs, and although he, too, seems to have little idea of how to develop a relationship dramatically, he is relatively appealing on stage, where he takes a major role.

His partner is Nicole Caldwell, who has mastered the ecstatic look and has some genuinely funny moments wrapping her pliable lips around beautiful words. The first 10 minutes, though, in which Caldwell plays stridently at being angry, are tough going. And whoever assembled the costumes has outfitted Caldwell and Brancaleone in two of the most unflattering ensembles ever foisted upon actresses.

*

“Penguin Blues” tops the trio with the best work of the evening. Director Amy E. Masgai manages to coax an interesting relationship out of Ethan Phillips’ confessional encounter between two inmates at an alcoholic rehabilitation center. Patti Cappel gives a plaintive performance as a tippling nun in severe denial, and Steve Pietarila brings a sloe-eyed nervousness to his interpretation of a serious abuser who can’t stop joking about it all.

Masgai alone among the directors seems to have done her homework. Someone needs to go back to square one when hot soup pots can be deposited willy-nilly on the lace tablecloth, and “Worcester” is pronounced “Warchester”.

Three One-Act Plays

A Saddleback College Department of Theatre Arts presentation of “A Tantalizing” by William Mastrisimone, directed by Lissa Herrera, with Marcus Perrenoud and Teresa Brancaleone; “It’s Called the Sugar Plum” by Israel Horowitz, directed by Michael Gene Brown, with Michael Gene Brown and Nicole Caldwell, and “Penguin Blues” by Ethan Phillips, directed by Amy E. Masgai, with Patti Cappel and Steve Pietarila, in the Studio Theatre at Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo, Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets: $5. Reservations and Information: (714) 582-4656.