Loss Through a Child’s Eye

Timothy Campos’ one-man show at Actors Playhouse is bracketed at both ends by the title, “Daniel Sends His Love,” and with good reason. The semiautobiographical play is a bouquet to the central character’s grandmother, who insisted that he be called Daniel.

At Daniel’s birth, his father called Gran and said, “Daniel sends his love.” At the end, Daniel asks God to tell his grandmother that “Daniel sends his love.” The prayer takes place at Gran’s funeral, when Daniel is approaching 13.

Campos plays the numerous characters. Wisely, and effectively, he doesn’t allow the grandmother to enter the action--this theatrical ploy makes the image of the offstage character more profound and meaningful. The charm, and much of the insight, is the play’s focus on the ordinary events surrounding Daniel’s loss, including the normal childhood distancing from the tragedy.

From the beginning, when Daniel is vainly trying to awaken his younger brother Pauly for the funeral, to the climax, when Daniel meets the funeral director’s daughter, his first attraction to the opposite sex, Campos builds pictures of moments in time, like random snapshots. It’s a small story, but the wealth of detail, and the care with which Campos has made his choices, are telling. Director Kelly Boczek’s staging is interesting.

Typical in a one-person show, even minimal costume changes slow the action. Campos and Boczek could tighten the piece by shaving minutes off the breaks. Campos dons a hat, sweater, skirt and glasses as Daniel’s uncontrollably sobbing great-aunt Ethel; the glasses and hat are all Campos needs for the mini-portrait.

Most of the characters Campos limns are colorful, particularly Daniel, two affectionate uncles, his understanding mother, and brother Pauly--who gets bent out of shape when a boy calls him “Pauline.”

There are some tears along the way, and a large dollop of humor. Campos’ charm and sincerity give Daniel’s brief story a rosy glow, like a memory that refuses to vanish but shines in many facets.

BE THERE

“Daniel Sends His Love,” Actors Playhouse, 1409 E. 4th St., Long Beach. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. Ends March 8. $12. (562) 590-9396. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.