STAGE REVIEWS : ‘Men’ Mired in Melodramatics

When noble intentions go awry, it isn’t pretty.

Playwright James P. Mirrione starts with a socially relevant concept: the abortion controversy from the man’s point of view.

“Men in Waiting” at the Tamarind Theatre throws together a bunch of disparate male types in the waiting room of an abortion clinic. Slowly, inexorably, the drama gets away from director Rebecca Taylor and becomes overheated, overstated and, finally, utterly impossible to entertain or believe.

The men are sullen oafs or callow jerks with one morose do-gooder (lachrymose Tim Ahern); the female staff is equally off-putting. The play’s forced attempt to present both sides of the abortion issue is mired in overlapping tirades and obligatory posturing and blown apart by an ending so melodramatic it’s dumbfounding. Only three of the dozen actors (Jon E. Ross, multi-cameo performer Mimi Lieber and preppy Pepper Sweeney) manage to survive the ordeal. which says a lot for them.

* “Men in Waiting,” Tamarind Theatre, 5919 Franklin Ave., Hollywood. Mondays-Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Ends March 3. $15. (213) 466-1767. Running time: 2 hours.