L.A.P.D. Gives Shape to Engaging ‘War’

The Los Angeles Poverty Department, a theatrical group that works with and for the residents of Skid Row, has in the past been criticized for shapeless productions, but its latest, “Still at War (The Never Ending Battle),” which opened Thursday at Theatre 5C at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, is more structured.

In a series of engaging scenes, we follow a desperate Vietnam vet who still suffers flashbacks, relives the agony of a “dear John” letter he received from his girlfriend while he was in Vietnam, smokes crack, has paranoid fantasies about women and copes with busy or uncaring bureaucrats.

The tormented veteran is a cultural stereotype and the characterization here could be deeper, but the individual scenes sketch a rough but vigorous portrait of this man’s environment. Co-director Otis Rogers plays the leading character, named after himself, with uncompromised intensity. Co-director Brian Brophy, who is associated with the Actors’ Gang, no doubt helped turn the material into a coherent theatrical experience.

Unlike many of the subjects covered in L.A.P.D. shows, this character is not homeless. He’s living with his parents--who have a somewhat daffy interior life of their own, it’s suggested--and a brother. However, the vet lived on the streets for six years. It’s not clear how long he has been home or where he spent the rest of his time since the war ended.

But then some of the lines couldn’t be heard, not only because of inadequate projection but also because members of the audience Thursday reacted noisily, with obvious flashes of recognition, to what they were seeing. Although a few of the words were missing, the drama came through loud and clear.

* “Still at War (The Never Ending Battle),” Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., Today, 8 p.m. $10. (213) 413-1077. Running time: 1 hour 20 minutes.