STAGE REVIEW : ‘Mezzanine’ Has Its Ups, Downs in Santa Monica

Bureaucracy is a bete noire of modern life. Playwrights Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie suggest that it may also be the basic problem with all life.

And, death.

It seems that a bottleneck has turned up on the “Mezzanine,” where souls are dispersed to the First Floor (conscious life on Earth), in this sprightly musical at the Santa Monica Playhouse.

Young Cory Cassidy (Daren Rice) was in an auto accident with a friend, and is in critical condition. But he turns up on the Mezzanine, refusing to return to life, even though he has 53 years to go before his allotted time is over. No one understands him, he’s fed up, and he’s not going to take it anymore. The spiritual bureaucracy is thrown into a turmoil.

Most of the contention derives from interdepartmental conflict, an ongoing battle between the Mezzanine and the Basement (read hell) for ultimate control. Basement Special Adviser Archibald, played by DeCarlo (who, with Rudie, also directs) comes upstairs to straighten things out, according to the gospel of Archibald. He’s accompanied by his impish mascot Devlin (a talented young Matt Wrather), who angrily keeps protesting that his boss is doing everything all wrong.

It’s a charming idea, staged with originality on Rice’s clever setting, with an excellent lighting and sound design by James Cooper. Ashley Hayes’ costumes are beautifully coordinated, and the whole is accompanied by a tuneful and lively score by Rudie and Linn Yamaha.

The dialogue and lyrics are crisp, particularly in several intricate patter songs that explode like firecrackers. But as much fun as it all is the lingering impression is of a holiday dinner, where there’s just too much food on the table. What is the main course?

The authors spend most of the evening pinpricking politically incorrect topics, but as with all bureaucracies, this one takes too long to get to poor, confused Cory. It is his story after all. Not to take away from the sparkling performances of DeCarlo, Rudie (as an edgy legal aide), Heather Ross (as a new employee and Cory’s sister) and a buoyant company (including Cheryl Moffatt and Aisha Wagle as department heads), the piece would be better served by shifting its balance of interest.

At show’s end, Devlin removes his puckish mask, as Cory exclaims, “You’re just a child! “ Devlin has his problems, too, with the after-life bureaucrats, and he doesn’t want to take it anymore, either.

The scene is a heartfelt dramatic spark ready to burst into flame.

Rice’s simple, honest Cory and Wrather’s feisty, elfin Devlin look as though they’re at the beginning of a story rather than at the end. Their relationship would be a sharper focus for the play than the extended sendup of bureaucracy.

* “Mezzanine,” Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 4th St., Santa Monica. Tuesdays-Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m. Ends Aug. 26. $18; (310) 394-9779. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.