A Project Locked in ‘Infinite Cages’

Sasha (Jeana Blackman) remembers the defining moment in her childhood when something went terribly wrong in her brain. That something was manic depression, the disease with which Sasha has waged a desperate struggle for most of her life.

Stripped to its essentials, Mike Stutz’s “Infinite Cages,” now at the Chandler Studio, could have been a compassionate treatment of a ravaging and all-too-common syndrome. Larded as it is with extraneous characters and disjointed story elements, Stutz’s wildly uneven drama could stand a dose of lithium.

Symbols abound: Cumbersome metal cages indicate Sasha’s psychological bondage; a sullen, ever-present woman (Kathy Kilsby) personifies her obdurate disease. The large cast, which moves smoothly through its paces thanks to a valiant effort by director Michael Holmes, supplies the cacophonous voices of Sasha’s inner mind.

Yet, hallucinogenic effects aside, the proceedings seem bizarrely disconnected, shifting randomly from Sasha to a sexy bulimic (Deborah Carson), then briefly to an abused wife (Cindy Young) and, finally, to Sasha’s own psychiatrist (Diana Angelina), who, in a tardy, tacked-on twist, commits suicide--apparently as a result of her strained relationship with her monstrously unloving father (John Beckman, in a mustache-twirling turn).

All of which leaves us wondering whose story this is anyway. And not caring.

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* “Infinite Cages,” Chandler Studio, 12433 Chandler Blvd., North Hollywood. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m. Dark Sundays through Jan. 16. $15. (818) 908-4094. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.