THEATER REVIEW : ‘L.A. Stories’: Reactions Based on Race and Class

Kambon Obayani realizes racial issues are not always, well, black and white. He explores some of the subtleties in two one-acts under the umbrella title of “L.A. Stories” at the Burbage Theatre.

The first, “Believer,” is the more interesting. Bob (Emilio Rivera), a Latino, finds himself aced out of a promotion by a black woman with much less experience in the firm.

This happens before the play begins, and the action is hobbled because of it. We’re left to just witness the reactions. It defies credibility that the most potentially explosive of these reactions--from the woman (Alma Collins) who got the job--would take place in Bob’s apartment.

Rivera throws away a few of his lines, but he has a commanding physical presence that makes his rage palpable. The situation bears continued exploration in an expanded format.

“Next Time Fire” examines more reactions--those of an African-American family in Los Angeles to the aftermath of the Rodney G. King verdict, as seen on TV April 29. Obayani concentrates on the three siblings’ opinions, which vary according to age and class.

Their positions are worth hearing, but, again, a heftier dramatic thrust would help move the play along. We hear about the threat to the family’s own store, but it fizzles, and the play ends rather abruptly, as if it were unfinished.

Jerry Hyde, a florid-faced Latino actor, plays the black patriarch, but he doesn’t seem comfortable in the role. Such non-traditional casting might work if the play were conceived in less realistic terms--if other non-blacks were cast, for example. It might even have served an ironic purpose in “Believer.” But here, it serves mainly to distract attention from Obayani’s words.

* “L.A. Stories,” Burbage Theatre, 2330 Sawtelle Blvd., West Los Angeles Sundays, 7:30 p.m. Ends March 21. $15. (310) 478-0897. Running t i me: 1 hour, 15 minutes.