Hawthorne--in a Humorous Light

Most high school students get to read a bit of Nathaniel Hawthorne in their English classes, but few learn much about Hawthorne’s fascinating life. In the first play of a trilogy based on Hawthorne and his circle, playwright Mark Lee is attempting to correct that situation.

Lee’s “An American Romance,” a comedy that opens Friday night at North Hollywood’s The Road Theatre, deals with Brook Farm, a Utopian community founded by Hawthorne and company in 1841.

Brook Farm was founded with high ideals for a better life. Unfortunately, human nature raised its ugly head and the experiment ended after six years. But it was the idealism, not the human frailties, of Brook Farm that first attracted Lee to the subject.

“I began to realize,” Lee said, “the problems that they dealt with were a great deal like the kinds of problems I was dealing with, and also my friends. It was a way to come at our own contemporary society through the different angle of a world that was active 150 years ago.”

And it was a way to explore the question, “How does an idealist create a community with other idealists and achieve both lasting relationships and lasting values?”

“These were people,” Lee said, “who really believed in their ideals, in what they were doing, and tried to put it into action. Things didn’t exactly turn out the way they wanted.”

Director John Lawler, founder of Seattle’s Annex Theatre, had wanted to work with Lee for many years, and this play provided the opportunity. While he, like Lee, was impressed with the idealism of Brook Farm, he understands its failure.

“The whole idea of an America, which was still unformed and undefined, is like these characters who are less defined than they think they are,” said Lawler. “At the base is this very strong desire to do very earthy human things. They fall in love and have passions, all the things that are at odds with their plan for a better self, and a better America.”

If all this sounds very serious, Lee managed to turn it into a comedy.

“To talk with such high ideals,” he said, “then to be made instantly human through your heart, the tension between those two impulses is naturally comedic.”

* “An American Romance,” the Road Theatre, 5108 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Aug. 17. $15. (818) 761-8838.

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Modern Romance: In the 150 years since Brook Farm, we have seen a big change in attitudes toward romance. Nowadays we have the “singles scene,” where instant intimacy is practically a given among males and females.

Actor-producer Michael Piscitelli is bringing a comedy called “The Line That Picked Up 1,000 Babes,” written by Eric Berlin, to the Two Roads Theatre beginning Friday.

“There are so many books out today on the subject,” Piscitelli said, “books for picking up guys, books for picking up girls. This play’s about the club scene, and people interacting and the (techniques) people tend to use to pick other people up.”

Beyond the laughs, Piscitelli finds some inherent wisdom in the play. While everyone else in the singles bar setting is happy to manipulate the situation in order to pick up someone, the two main characters try to remain true to themselves. “That’s the whole point,” he says. “When you’re at a bar, and want to meet someone, just be yourself. That’s what I like about it.”

* “The Line That Picked Up 1,000 Babes,” Two Roads Theatre, 4348 Tujunga Ave., Studio City. Fridays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends Aug. 3. $12.50. (213) 876-8418.