‘Six Feet Under’ Gets Buried by Characters

In “Six Feet Under,” Michael J. Holland’s family drama at the Ivar Theatre in Hollywood, 17-year-old Arvie Lowe Jr. gives a lively performance as a gang leader run amok.

Lowe’s Victor Showwell is following in the footsteps of older brother Vinny (Jay), a former gang kingpin imprisoned for his role in a mysterious murder years earlier. Unlike Vinny, though, the arrogant and blustery Victor has few scruples regarding his New York neighborhood or the family headed by his long-suffering Mama (Faye Griffin). After a reformed Vinny unexpectedly returns home, the stage is set for confrontation between the two brothers.

Apart from Lowe’s efforts, Victor is interesting partly because the characters who surround him aren’t. Vinny, Mama, even the improbably solicitous Officer Kelly (Ray Fraggi) are painted as benign but misguided authority figures who are somehow to blame for Victor’s delinquency.

Static staging and some very disappointing performances hamper Holland’s production, which might benefit instantly from the cutting of several dull and irrelevant dance routines.

* “Six Feet Under,” Ivar Theatre, 1605 N. Ivar Ave., Hollywood. Fridays-Sundays, 7:45 p.m. Ends Feb. 26. $12.50-$15. (213) 464-3667. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.