Improbability Puts Damper on ‘Art’

The title “What Is Art?” is a pun on both the rhetorical question that has vexed civilization for centuries and the occupation of the scheming young fellow Art (Ian Ziering), who will pretend to be anything to snag a babe. And that is really about as clever as this play gets.

This Court Theatre production of Wm. S. Leavengood’s sex comedy is enthusiastic and does feature some good performances, but Leavengood’s script isn’t particularly witty or original. Better sniping at the snobbery and questionable taste of modern art has been offered on segments of “Murphy Brown.” Far worse, he relies heavily and uncomfortably on stereotypes.

Art impersonates a famous artist to impress a beautiful French art dealer (Marcy Kaplan) in a sparse but stylish apartment-studio decorated with grotesque phallic art objects. Because of the purported sacrilegious subject matter of the famous artist’s work, he, and by mis-association, Art, has become the target of fanatical members of a religious sect who wish to castrate him in a ridiculous ceremonial rite.

Leavengood adds on other complications such as a thwarted romance between Art’s sister (Rhonda Aldrich) and his friend Fred (Greer Coursey), and such characters as a former dictator in retirement (Joseph Della Sorte), a senile mother (Joy Claussen), the artist’s slimy publicist (Thomas Tofel) and the artist’s manic-depressive girlfriend (Helen Cates).

Lawrence Cox lets the action flow like a raging river, but at the expense of multi-dimensional character development. Ziering’s Art isn’t really a lovable rascal as much as a lucky lout. Tofel’s squirming is funny, but it’s Claussen and Cates who really shine. Claussen benefits greatly from Leavengood’s scripting, which is at its best in her scenes.

Yet this can’t make up for the large logic holes. Improbable situations are the foundation of this genre, but would half a dozen people really stand by and do nothing against a fanatic Shiite with a knife? Throw a phallic art piece for Art’s sake.

* “What Is Art?,” Court Theatre, 722 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Ends Sept. 7. $22-25. (818) 789-8499. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.