Williams’ ‘Myrtle’ a Tired Struggle

With his 1968 play “Kingdom of Earth (The Seven Descents of Myrtle),” Tennessee Williams moved perilously close to self-parody.

This overripe bit of Southern Gothic--now in a rare revival at the Hudson Avenue Theatre in Hollywood--once again shows the ugly demise of a Delta clan, a la “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

Lot (Daniel Nathan Spector), a prodigal scion suffering from advanced tuberculosis, has returned to the decrepit homestead with his flittery new bride Myrtle (Terry Davis). He hopes to wrench back control of the plantation from his vengeful half-brother, the caretaker Chicken (Jack Stehlin), who’s due to inherit the property upon Lot’s death.

The classic Williams struggle between a brutal realist (Chicken) and a hopeless romantic (Myrtle) has seldom seemed so tired. Sluggish as a Mississippi mud flow, the play seems almost a burlesque of the playwright’s best work, from its heavy-handed Biblical allusions (flooding, fraternal struggle) to an embarrassing kitchen rape scene that would make James M. Cain blush.

Crystal Brian’s haunting production proves a boon to this otherwise second-rate work. Playing one of Williams’ least vivid heroines, Davis still manages to capture the character’s fragile sexuality and delusional nature. Stehlin offers the requisite menace for Chicken, with Spector a suitably effete foil. And Kelly Crutchfield’s compact set has nailed the dismal shabbiness of Chicken’s domain.

* “Kingdom of Earth (The Seven Descents of Myrtle),” Hudson Avenue Theatre, 1110 N. Hudson Ave., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m., Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Feb. 25. $10. (213) 660-8587. Running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes.