Media Play Minimal Role in Lehrer’s ‘Chili Queen’

A play about a hostage crisis by PBS-TV journalist Jim Lehrer probably emphasizes his observations on the role of the media in covering the situation, right?

Wrong. Lehrer kept the media offstage. That’s the biggest surprise about “Chili Queen,” at the Coronet Theatre.

Lehrer was more interested in the newsmakers themselves. “Chili Queen” is a mildly engaging and well-acted but predictable example of that conventional genre in which two hostile strangers--forced into close quarters--gradually learn to appreciate each other.

The two in this case are Velma Allen (Margot Hartman), the 52-year-old waitress at the Chili Queen in a small town northeast of Dallas, and Buddy Hardeman (Brad Beyer), a cash-strapped customer who’s half Velma’s age. Upon receiving his chili burger and “D.P.” (Dr Pepper), Buddy accuses Velma of shortchanging him by $10. She denies it, but he won’t let it drop.

The joint’s owner, Junior Denison (Neal Mayer), trying to intimidate a troublemaker who’s bigger than he is, foolishly reaches for a gun near the cash register. Buddy wrestles it away, and the crisis is on. Soon snappish Velma and surly Buddy are alone together.

The media aren’t totally absent. When the two listen to the Chili Queen’s only TV set--which produces no picture but transmits sound--Velma is excited to hear that she’s in the news. In the play’s funniest dig at the media, a TV reporter asks via telephone if the two will pose near the window, with Buddy pointing his gun at Velma’s head. Both of them oblige, with Velma especially pleased to perform for the camera.

This incident is hardly pivotal, however, and it doesn’t justify a claim in the program that the play “asks hard questions” about the media. No, the media shouldn’t do that sort of thing--this isn’t hard to figure out. But the media are relatively unimportant here, compared to their role in last year’s hostage movie “Mad City.”

If Lehrer is touching on controversy, it’s in his depiction of the danger of keeping a gun near the cash register. The gun clearly exacerbated this crisis. Late in the play, however, Lehrer introduces a question about this particular gun. This turn of events helps Lehrer resolve the plot, but only at the cost of casting some doubt on the credibility of Velma’s previous behavior.

Hartman’s Velma generally lives up to her billing as being as “hot and full of beans” as the chili she serves. She’s crotchety over a runaway husband and an ungrateful 18-year-old son. But later she softens, after she and Buddy swap tales of woe. She’s an obvious character, but Hartman handles her well.

Buddy is touching in his habit of using polite forms of address even when he’s belligerent. Beyer’s steeliness cuts through most of Buddy’s dimmer moments, though Buddy’s brief toying with the idea of having a birthday party with these people doesn’t seem real.

Mayer’s Junior provides welcome comic relief. Junior believes that his invention of “chilisicles”--frozen chili on a stick--will take him to the top. Peter Ratray is sturdily authentic as the town sheriff, as are the Eldon Elder-designed road stop and the vivid sound of some of the local colloquialisms Lehrer strews throughout the dialogue.

* “Chili Queen,” Coronet Theatre, 366 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends March 15. $25-$35. (213) 365-3500; (310) 657-7377. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

Margot Hartman: Velma Allen

Peter Ratray: Duane Sherman

Brad Beyer: Buddy Hardeman

Neal Mayer: Junior Denison

Jim Lehrer’s play, produced by Del Tenney and Kermit Christman. Directed by Tenney. Set by Eldon Elder. Lighting by Daniel Gordon. Costumes by Erik Bruce. Sound by Sean Morrissey. Production stage manager Meredyth Mindte.