HOLIDAY THEATER REVIEWS : ‘Wrecks’ Rambles at the Odessa

The clock on the wall of Lulu’s Bar in San Francisco doesn’t work. But then, nothing does in James Kennedy’s “Wrecks,” which is set in the bar. This Christmas offering is the first production at Kennedy’s Odessa Theatre, formerly the Gnu.

It takes place on Christmas Eve, but humbug and dramatic sham replace the mistletoe. The losers and wrecks who tumble into Lulu’s are cliche-ridden stereotypes: a pimp with two prostitutes; a loony, drunken woman sobbing her love for her husband and children; a tough-talking bail bondsman and his vice squad girlfriend.

Even with a basic form borrowed from Saroyan’s bar in “The Time of Your Life,” Kennedy’s writing is scatter-shot and fragmented, and often gets laughs for the wrong reasons in the wrong places.

* “Wrecks,” Odessa Theatre, 10426 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. Thursdays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends Jan. 9. $15; (818) 752-0059. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes. This selection of holiday stage reviews is by The Times ‘ theater writers.