Serving Some Sentiment, Straight Up or With a Twist : Three One-Acts From ‘Yuletide’

Some Christmas plays are heartwarming. Others are rib-tickling. Still others are time-wasting. Here are reviews of just a few of the holiday-themed theatrical offerings in Southern California.

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“Yuletide Stories,” a trio of one-acts at the Burbage Theatre, isn’t likely to kindle much holiday spirit.

While each of these playlets from Zeitgeist Theatre Company is based on a Christmas theme, only one could credibly be called a story. Perhaps “Seasonal Situations” didn’t have the same ring.

The best by far is Elias Stimac’s charming “Wonderful Life.” Beth (Jill Greenwood) is a worldly novelist bumped from a holiday flight home, Timothy (Stimac) a nebbishy ticket agent who invites himself to her hotel room to cheer her up.

It’s a corny and obvious setup. But Stimac’s unassuming nature, as both writer and actor, is completely disarming. He gives Timothy a winning mix of innocence (he still gets excited by Christmas trees and eggnog) and shrewdness (he deliberately bumped Beth from that flight). Unfortunately, Jillian Twigger’s direction lacks pizazz.

Stimac fares less well with his script for “A-Carolling,” a vexingly pointless sketch about three young women who go caroling to meet eligible bachelors. Their jaunt is punctuated by lots of arguing and complaining, all in laborious preparation for a throwaway punch line. Dana Vitatoe directed.

Next to Stimac’s contemporary work, Lucy Lee Flippin’s “Three Ships” looks out of place--a feminist comedy set in a medieval British castle. Three ladies-in-waiting celebrate Christmas with their wise and wisecracking mentor, Ute (Flippin). Flippin, who also directed, should have stuck to a simpler idea and a more familiar context.

* “Yuletide Stories,” Burbage Theatre, 2330 Sawtelle Blvd., West Los Angeles. Fridays-Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Dark Dec. 18-Jan. 5. Ends Jan. 21. $15. (310) 478-0897. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.