‘Family Secrets’ Not Meant to Be Spread

If the trend-watchers are to be believed, the term “dysfunctional family,” like “co-dependent,” is out. One of the strengths of “Family Secrets,” by Sherry Glaser and Greg Howells, is that it has outlasted the dysfunctionalist wave.

Though we didn’t realize it at the time, the play’s 1990 premiere in Los Angeles had perfect timing: Family breakdown was becoming a national crisis point, or at least a talk-show programming point, and the play spoke to the subject as no other had. Not surprisingly, the play went on to enjoy the longest run ever for a one-person show off-Broadway.

Now that “Family Secrets” has returned, at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, things have changed--in more ways than one.

Glaser plays all five members of a Jewish family: Mort, the father; Bev, the mother; oldest sister Fern; youngest sister Sandra; and grandmother Rose. Forged with the powerful elements of sadness, rage, wit and forgiveness, and despite (or because of) some time off from the off-Broadway run and a subsequent national tour, Glaser’s performance is even more confident than it was in the original L.A. production.

When Glaser, who is pregnant, has to be a portly character such as Mort, the pregnancy is an added bonus; when she has to be hyperactive, drugged-out Sandra, Glaser cleverly conceals the extra weight. And when she has to play Fern delivering her first child at home the natural way, it feels about as real as a stage birth can get.

In the old L.A. days, Glaser worked in a relatively tiny space. Now, an expanded stage allows Rob Odorisio’s simple set of bed, chair and vanity to look more archetypal, as if suspended in time and space, suggesting an Every family (greatly aided by Brian MacDevitt’s lights, adapted here by Jacqueline Jones Watson).

Expanded space, though, is not a friend of the play or performance. Because “Family Secrets” is a funny exploration of pain, and because the family members speak to the audience in direct address, it’s a work of intimacy.

The La Mirada space forces Glaser to be miked and to play moments a bit larger than is ideal. Fern’s birthing is one thing, but Sandra’s woozy bounciness appears forced, and Bev’s shtick (a laugh that sounds like she’s choking) tends to work against that character’s tragedy.

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It’s a case of modulation more than wrong choices, and the volume level here is too high. Turned down a touch--which would mean doing this in a more appropriate space--the artful layers of “Family Secrets” would come across more powerfully. The echoes and behavior links, for instance, between Fern and the mother she tries absurdly hard not to be like would be clearer. By the time we get to Rose and know this feuding family of self-absorbed crazies, we can hear them in her description of their gathering for her wedding day. We would really feel them, though, under better conditions.

Glaser and director Howells do what they must at the La Mirada, but they can’t conquer the space’s flattening effect. And as much as an audience here will connect with this material, it won’t know what it missed.

* “Family Secrets,” La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada. Tuesday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2:30 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Ends March 10. $32. (714) 994-6310 or (310) 944-9801. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

Sherry Glaser: Mort/Bev/Fern/Sandra/Rose

(Note: Actor Alice Manning replaces Glaser on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and March 10 at 7:30 p.m.)

A McCoy/Rigby Entertainment and Eight Ball production of the play by Sherry Glaser and Greg Howells. Directed by Howells. Set: Rob Odorisio. Lights: Brian MacDevitt, adapted by Jacqueline Jones Watson.