‘Good’ Goes Astray in Portraying Evil

“Good,” by the late Scottish playwright C.P. Taylor, examines how an ostensibly moral man is swept up in the rising tide of Nazism.

Now at Theatre West under the direction of Norman Cohen, the play attempts to incorporate music and comedy into the action. The musical numbers, which include a Nazi warbling “A Night in Monte Carlo” and a beleaguered Jew singing an ironic version of “My Blue Heaven,” are reminiscent of those in Dennis Potter’s landmark television works--only Potter did it better.

Taylor was obviously striving to punch up his grim subject with a little unaccustomed humor. Whatever Taylor’s intentions, the result is an anachronistic melange that is turgid and overly simplistic. Under Cohen’s uninspired tutelage, the result is a stupefyingly slow go.

Steve O’Connor plays Halder, a German university professor who, despite his close friendship with prominent Jewish psychotherapist Maurice (Ivan Cury), is gradually seduced into the ranks of the S.S. O’Connor substitutes a bemused affability for the intellectual urbanity his role requires. Elizabeth DuVall has great presence as Anne, the student for whom Halder leaves his wife. Anne uses her gender as a convenient rationale for turning a blind eye to the escalating amorality all around her. Fluffy and adoring, Anne stands staunchly behind her man as he sallies forth into unspeakable evil.

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* “Good,” Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends July 19. $18. (213) 851-7977. Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes.