‘Macho’: Tame Show Puts Its Best Face Forward

Phil Donahue and Alan Alda may have nabbed the copyright on the Sensitive Guy persona, but Rick Najera gives it a new twist in his “The Pain of the Macho” at the Court. An amiable multi-character solo that pokes fun at the butt-headed ways guys behave, it features a string of familiar characters, from busboys to homeboys. And while the show doesn’t take the risks it should, Najera’s an engaging performer who comes out looking better than his own tame material.

It starts with a stand-up routine about machismo. The humor is plentiful, if predictable. “I don’t come from a dysfunctional family,” he tells us, “but like all good Latino men, I’d like to create one someday.” And: “Machos never write anything down, they just pass it down.”

The rest of the show, directed by John Bowab, consists of the agile Najera assaying seven roles in nine monologues. Alejandro talks about his quickie affair with an Anglo woman. Desi talks about Lucy. Fidel gets ready to dash across the freeway. And so on.

Yet Najera leaves his freshest premises under-explored--such as when Alejandro is captured by the feministas-- and his funniest guise, as Miss East L.A., played for less than it’s worth. He also backs off when he gets near thorny territory. Border patrol agent Buford Gomez, for instance, has some gnarly contradictions in his life, and his cursory portrait begs to be expanded.

Najera, who was one of the original members of the comedy group Latins Anonymous and more recently has been working in TV, seems at ease, maybe too at ease, in this show. But the conservative material--as well as signs of a serious acting talent underneath the comic--suggest he could stretch his skills more. Besides, it’d be the macho thing to do.

* “The Pain of the Macho,” Court Theatre, 722 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 10:15 p.m. Runs indefinitely. $10. (213) 466-1767. Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.