The Melodrama of ‘Owen Beavers’

Owen Beavers is the fattest man in the world. As such, he’s a celebrity, the object of universal curiosity and scorn. But what price this dubious glory? Bedridden and close to death, Owen drifts in a purgatorial existence, unable to shift his bulk or empty his bowels without aid.

James Boyce’s initially promising drama, “What Became of Owen Beavers” at the Actors’ Gang El Centro, ends in melodrama. However, a fascinating central character, enlivened by Micheal McShane in a bigger-than-life performance, largely compensates for the play’s dramatic shortcomings. Although physically immobilized, Owen is mentally nimble, a sensitive intellect trapped in a gross shell--an agonizing combination.

Director Michael Schlitt engineers the action with relative aplomb, although more attention should be paid to rudimentary stage business. (Why, for instance, strew Owen’s bedside table with precariously balanced glasses of diet soda?) Steve Mitchell’s authentically threadbare set bespeaks a man whose physical limitations have also limited his circumstances.

Tracy Vilar is terrific as Owen’s Latina caregiver, a no-nonsense homegirl who has concocted a genuine affection for her unwieldy charge. Eric Poppick is effectively repugnant as Owen’s grandstanding doctor, who intends, for his own glorification, to subject Owen to radical, last-ditch surgery.

As the tabloid reporter who is interviewing Owen for her rag, Ruth de Sosa starts off as an icy sophisticate, then melts down into genuine pity and empathy for her subject.

Despite his occasionally maudlin dialogue (“Could you love me as I am?”), McShane explores the human core at the center of this massive man, defying us to dismiss Owen as a freak and challenging our notions of normalcy.

BE THERE

“What Became of Owen Beavers,” Actors’ Gang El Centro, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends May 30. $12. (213) 660-8587. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.