‘Minor Demons’ a Powerful and Disturbing Outing

It was the kind of momentary lapse that could happen to anyone. But in the exacting, inflexible code of law enforcement, small-town police chief Vince DelGatto’s failure to read a killer his rights before questioning has put the entire case in jeopardy.

To make matters worse, the defense lawyer who discovers the chief’s mistake is his childhood buddy, Deke Winters, torn between his loyalty to Vince and his obligation to his client.

The age-old dramatic clash of lifelong friends turned fierce antagonists gets an effective contemporary spin in Bruce Graham’s powerful and disturbing drama “Minor Demons” at the Alliance Theatre.

It’s certainly a play with ample fuel for heated debate on the issue of defendants’ rights at the expense of society’s interests.

But Graham and director Louis Esposito wisely keep the focus on human repercussions rather than legal arguments, and the first-rate performances engage even when the story borders on the formulaic.

As Vince, the blue-collar police chief in way over his head, Blaise Messinger’s performance aches with sympathetic good intentions undone by his own incompetence.

Al Sapienza’s Deke is no saint, either--a one-time hot-shot attorney recently returned to his hometown to clean up his life, the baggage of cocaine addiction and a failed marriage obviously weigh heavily. As he tries to stake out a morally tenable position, he realizes that if he starts lying now to protect Vince, the downward spiral will only start all over again.

Arnie Starkey plays the teen-age murderer with chilling sociopathic disregard for the brutality of his crime, and Petrea Burchard brings an agreeable understated naturalism to Vince’s concerned wife.

There are no pat answers in this drama--only a disquieting challenge to wrestle with complicated questions. As Deke’s exasperated lawyer girlfriend (Cheri Caspari) sums it up, “Democracy makes people think--and they don’t want to.” * “ Minor Demons ,” Alliance Theatre, 3204 W . Magnolia Blvd., Burbank . Thursdays - Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends July 23. $15. (213) 660-8587. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

‘Macbeth’ Staging Scores Big Points

Ellen Geer’s sure-footed staging pulls no punches in “Macbeth,” one of Shakespeare’s more gruesome but ennobling tragedies.

Rendering the drama’s complex interplay between fate and human ambition with all the eerie supernatural trappings that could easily teeter into corniness (but don’t), the production scores big points for its fidelity to Shakespeare’s broad historical sweep and penetrating insight.

The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum outdoor amphitheater’s natural canyon backdrop unfolds majestically behind Matthew C. Jacobs’ castle set, and proves integral to the staging (especially when the forest rises up in keeping with the witches’ prophecy).

In the reviewed performance, alternate Barbara March took over the role of Lady Macbeth from director Geer with admirable clarity in her heartless pursuit of power at any cost.

Tom Allard (who shares the title role with George McDaniel during the run) is a towering presence as the unscrupulous Thane who murders his king and best friend to attain the Scottish crown.

An initially taciturn, almost inscrutable Macbeth, Allard unpeels his “darkest desires” in carefully controlled layers. Ultimately wracked by guilt over the bloodshed needed to maintain his power but too greedy to let go, he stands alone, cut off from his own humanity.

Yet there’s a central mystery to the tyrant that Allard never fully unravels. Monster that he is, Macbeth nevertheless voices some of the most eloquent speeches ever penned (like his “Out, out, brief candle!” upon learning of his wife’s death). With little to suggest this oratory skill in Allard’s overall portrayal, such dialogue rings a tad out of character--are we dealing with a closet poet-warrior or has this inspiration erupted from his supremely solitary footing in the world? There’s no clear answer, but wherever it comes from, this language still rivets the soul.

* “Macbeth ,” Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga . Sundays, 8 p.m. through June 26, Sundays at 7:30 p.m. from July 3, Friday s at 8 p.m. July 8, 15, and 22. Ends Sept. 18. $12. (310) 455-2322. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

‘The Brat!’ a Campy, Overblown Comedy

After a famous punk-rocker blows his brains out, his strung-out widow, grabbing for the only remaining fragment of their doomed love, tracks down and throws herself at the unwilling recipient of his transplanted heart.

Unfortunately, execution doesn’t live up to flashy high-concept in “The Brat!,” a black comedy by Michael Sargent, who also appears as the Sid Vicious-inspired guitarist.

“It’s my function in life to outrage people,” sneers Sargent’s Mike X, echoing the punk movement’s take-no-prisoners assault on social stagnation in the late 1970s.

If only this play at the Cast Theatre could do the same for the ‘90s. Sadly, Sargent and director Roxanne Rogers settle instead for campy, overblown parody in which even the performers smirk at their own characters (never a good idea).

As Stephanie White, the pregnant addict wife (“I’m doing drugs for two now”), Julie Summer comes across as a high-volume cross between Nancy Spungeon and Courtney Love. Other rock scene caricatures include a Nina Hagen-esque chanteuse (Shawna Casey) with a braided, “acid milk-maid” look, and an unscrupulous manager (Lee Arenberg) modeled after Sex Pistols puppetmeister Malcolm McLaren.

But so what? These characters add nothing more than momentary chuckles of recognition. Only in the final scene, when Stephanie’s teen-age son (Sargent) seeks out the jailbird owner of his father’s heart (Tyrone Granderson Jones) do we get anything approaching a genuine conversation--too little, too late for an already spoiled “Brat!” * “The Brat!” Cast Theatre, 800 N. El Centro Ave., Hollywood. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends July 24. $15. (213) 462-0265. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.