‘The Firebugs’ Puts Spotlight on Apathy

A Greek chorus of firefighters, a homeless former wrestler and an elegant and educated former waiter--whose last workplace mysteriously burned down--descend upon the house of a hapless factory owner. In Max Frisch’s absurdist play “The Firebugs,” there are lessons to be learned about both fascism and apathy.

The Buffalo Nights Theatre Company’s revival at the Powerhouse Theatre stumbles in places, but director Chris Beach still manages to squeeze some amusing moments out of this 1958 parable, without allowing the weight of its moral to crush.

In a city plagued by mysterious fires, Biedermann is a big-talking, gutless wonder, a “good citizen” who allows two strangers--an indigent ex-wrestler (Jason Reed) and his tuxedo-clad friend (Gibson Frazier)--to live in his attic. Out of fear and fierce denial and totally drenched in anxious sweat, he waits as they make this space an ignition point for a grand fire.

At the performance reviewed, Kevin Weisman stepped into the leading role of Biedermann (replacing Steven M. Porter) for a physically comedic performance. Yet not everyone displayed this same kinetic energy. More distracting was the half-hearted, white-face makeup job on all the actors.

While Frisch originally wrote this play to criticize the apathy of German intellectuals during the rise of fascism, the message is certainly just as meaningful today, and rarely does an academic morality play come in such a pleasant, if flawed, package.

* “The Firebugs,” Powerhouse Theatre, 3116 2nd St., Santa Monica. Fridays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends May 4. $12.50. (213) 658-4040. Running time: 2 hours.