Working Out Some ‘Homebound’ Fears

“Homebound” is the state of frightening, self-imposed captivity of three phobics in Richard Christian’s new comedy at the Hudson Theatre.

In an obsessively color-coordinated house in Ypsilanti, Mich., phobias are illnesses and systems of manipulations and interdependence. Louisiana-born Beau (Mitch Poulos) is a whiny, neurotic mess. The sight of anything orange, the utterance of a foul word sends him into a panic attack. His “roommate” Bob (Jeff Holden) is a crude, chain-smoking agoraphobic who may share a bed with a man but remains slightly homophobic. Beau’s sister, Laura (Nancy Hammill), is a lustful belle with a lethal Southern charm who has only recently acquired her fear of open spaces. Her second husband, Scott (Mark Muse), has spent nine years working on his bachelor’s degree at a third-rate college and four years as the household’s only conduit to the outside world.

Bob’s ex-con brother, Mike (James F. Collins), and his good-time girlfriend Alyson (Dyana Ortelli) pay a visit with ulterior motives, causing the whole phobic-dependent cycle to collapse in a weekend.

This talky comedy is a little long, but Christian keeps our interest tweaked with gentle twists. Nothing gets too ugly, and the ending is mostly optimistic. It can be a bit preachy at times, but mostly this is an amusingly told tale about Southern hospitality and family craziness moved into the wilderness of small-town Michigan and boiled over by cabin fever.

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* “Homebound,” Hudson Theatre, 6529 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Nov. 30. $25. (888) 566-8499. Running time: 3 hours, 5 minutes.