‘Parallel’ Veers Off Course, Seldom Intersects

“Parallel Lives,” at Alternative Repertory Theatre through June 16, consists of a dozen sketches. All are sendups and parodies, and they cover a lot of ground.

Subjects range from the creation of the world (“Supreme Beings”) to menstruation (“Period Piece”) and religion (“God”), from dating (“Kris & Jeff”) to women’s lib (“Las Hermanas”) and family dysfunction (“Three Sisters”).

All are more or less painless--toothless too--and occasionally entertaining. The entertainment is largely the result of Sarah Lang and Louise Moore’s faux naif performances in multiple roles.

The writing, by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy, is mostly dull. But in a sketch about a pair of sad, Southern down-home drunks (“Hank & Karen Sue”), it rises to cleverness, giving both actors brief support.

Hank (Moore), already in an alcoholic stupor, greets Karen Sue (Lang) in their neighborhood tavern with a pathetic refrain that gets funnier each time he repeats it: “You’re looking ver-ruh, ver-ruh pretty tonight, darlin’.” To which Karen Sue always replies: “Way-ll, thank y-e-w-w-w!” Which draws a bigger laugh, deservedly.

Both characters take off, if not into reality, then into the imagination. Although the sketch peters out, as do the others, the emphatic, sharply delineated performances make it less forgettable.

*

Lang’s and Moore’s impersonations of a pair of Generation X-ers on a date in “Kris & Jeff” freshen a sketch with little else to recommend it. Unfortunately, there’s no way to give even the slightest lift to “Shakespeare,” which uses purported Elizabethan-isms to parody Shakespeare’s language.

The authors apparently believe that adding an eth to verbs and nouns is all it takes to spoof the BardThey are, in their own style, inaneth to think so.

Some playgoers may find the harmless “Period Piece” dumb. It is. It’s also irredeemably sophomoric. Others may object to “God” because of its derisive take on Catholic nuns and the ritual of confession; I took offense at the moth-eaten cliches and stale jokes.

The way to enjoy “Parallel Lives” is to lower your expectations and not assess the damage.

* “Parallel Lives,” Alternative Repertory Theatre, 1636 S. Grand Ave., Santa Ana. Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 5 p.m. Ends June 16. $16. (714) 836-7929. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.

Louise Moore: Supreme Being No. 1

Sarah Lang: Supreme Being No. 2

An Alternative Repertory Theatre production of a play by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy, directed by Patrick Brien. Producer and sound designer: Gary Christensen. Scenic designer: Suzie Duval. Costume coordinator: Arilyn Carpenter. Lighting designer: David C. Palmer. Stage manager: Michael Cox.