THEATER REVIEW : Problems Make for Long ‘Nightfalls’

Playwrights are prone to write plays about certain ills of society. But in his “Nightfalls in L.A.,” writer-director John Ferzacca has decided to take everything amiss in the City of Angels and put it all into one interminable pageant.

There’s no kitchen sink here, but that’s about the only thing missing. There’s an illegal immigrant, a homeless Vietnam vet, kids killed on the streets, riots, earthquakes, a serial killer from a dysfunctional family, a drag queen who does Marilyn Monroe, an out-of-work actor, a philosophizing cop who can’t hide his racism, etc.

The work looks as though Ferzacca, who teaches theater at Orange Coast College and directs the school’s current production of “Nightfalls,” had a few one-acts and sketches about L.A. hanging around and decided to throw in some filler and make it into a very long play.

Well, it’s not a play. It’s a bunch of bits and pieces that rarely match each other in tone or style, most of them in monologue form, and that don’t fit into any coherent, overall shape.

A “Saturday Night Live”-type sketch about a French tourist trying to find his way to “The Phantom of the Opera” with the help of non-English-speaking Angelenos contrasts with a very serious moment with a well-to-do Vietnamese grad student telling the homeless vet about the student’s debt to America and its troops.

Very randy translations to an ethnically mixed class of a simple English grammar lesson on the proper use of “lie” and “lay” and the past tense of “hang” get laughs, while the illegal immigrant’s tirade about women being raped and beaten still echoes in the mind.

Ferzacca directs this cliche-ridden bouillabaisse on David Scaglione’s multipurpose set with some style, but as director, he can’t overcome his problems as playwright.

*

Within the large framework, there are some insightful moments that could be enlarged into meaningful works on their own.

Sandra Deeh Moore is wonderful as a South-Central mother worried about her teen-age daughter (Wanda D. Saint Juste) and son being out late, even though she knows they are really good kids. It has a twist ending and an impact that might warrant further exploration.

The serial killer is a character in what is already a pretty solid one-act that floats by itself in the middle of the evening. P.J. Agnew is the Man who is terrifying a rather formidable Abducted Woman (Angela J. Combs), and their performances, along with some mysterious and insightful writing, make this the highlight of the production.

*

The only through-line is a running series of scenes between the out-of-work actor (Todd Kulczyk) and a woman (Leslie Rowe) who wants to make it big on game shows. They both keep the spirit of their scenes high, but they’re flailing at “Love, American Style” dialogue.

Daniel J. Combs as the drag queen and Lynn Laguna as a hooker obsessed with being Monroe’s daughter are also effective in a pointless replaying of a tired, old tune.

* “Nightfalls in L.A.,” Drama Lab Studio, Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m. Ends Sunday. $6-$9. (714) 432-5880. Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes.

P.J. Agnew: Man

Angela J. Combs: Abducted Woman

Daniel J. Combs: Mark

Lynn Laguna: Jean

Todd Kulczyk: Ric Lane

Leslie Rowe: Traci

An Orange Coast College production of the world premiere of a comedy-drama written and directed by John Ferzacca. Scenic design: David Scaglione. Lighting design: Doug Vining. Costume design: Jennifer Anderson. Stage manager: Jody Marler.