The Ups and Downs of ‘Love and Anger’

Few actors face a bigger challenge than Ian Buchanan in George F. Walker’s “Love and Anger” at West Coast Ensemble/La Brea in Hollywood.

Buchanan plays Petie Maxwell, a lawyer and budding eccentric in an unnamed city. Since suffering a stroke, Maxwell has abandoned his rich friends, set up practice in a ghetto basement and set about righting perceived social injustice by fabricating judicial evidence and blithely ignoring his clients’ wishes. “Medicine is No. 4 on my hit list, after law, religion and government,” he proclaims.

Buchanan’s task is to make this self-absorbed nut case palatable, or at least presentable, to an audience. It’s a doomed attempt, though not entirely because of the actor’s heavily mannered, mugging performance. The script, which has all the subtle thrust of a barbell, devolves into an unlikely, obnoxiously moralistic mock trial of sleazy tabloid publisher John Connor (Clint Carmichael). Presiding over this kangaroo court is Sarah (Tiffany Henshaw), the schizophrenic sister of Petie’s long-suffering secretary (Eleanor Downey).

Director Christopher Hart’s workmanlike production gives “Love and Anger” far more technical finesse than it deserves.

* “Love and Anger,” West Coast Ensemble/La Brea, 522 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m., Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends June 30. $18. (213) 871-1052. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.