STAGE BEAT : Berkoff’s ‘Lunch’ a Meaty One-Act

Like John Steppling and Athol Fugard, Steven Berkoff’s playwriting process includes the directing of his own work, shaping its style on stage as well as on page. In all these cases, it’s fascinating to see other directors tackle further productions.

Brian D. Scott’s guidance of the Powerhouse’s production of Berkoff’s “Lunch” shows not only the one-act’s durability, but his own firm grasp on the play’s structure, tempos and rhythms. This new-age “Brief Encounter” is a concerto for two voices, and Scott knows the score inside and out.

As the Man and Woman who meet at a lonely seaside restaurant table, enjoin, simmer, boil and explode, Lawrence Levy and Doreen Stelton are superb. The staging is pure Berkoff--crisp, alienated and brutally honest, as are the performances.

The second play of the evening does not fare as well. Alan Eisenstock’s “The History of Blacks and Jews in Television” pokes fun at the sometimes ludicrous and always distressing world of writing for television. Its flaw is that it is television writing, which is rarely successful poking fun at anything.

In spite of Eric Menyuk’s kinetic direction and good comic performances from Richard Hochberg’s put-upon Jewish scripter and Jack Kandel’s slimy producer, the play can’t help looking like a Comedy Central sketch puffed to the breaking point.

* “Lunch” & “The History of Blacks and Jews in Television,” Powerhouse Theatre, 3116 2nd St., Santa Monica. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Sunday. $12; (310) 393-9631. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.