A Father Sets Out to ‘Clean’ House

Edwin Sanchez opts for the unexpected in “Clean,” his visceral family drama at the Celebration Theatre. Despite Jon Lawrence Rivera’s taut staging, however, the path of novelty descends inexorably into melodrama in Sanchez’s promising but minor effort.

Abusive patriarch Kiko (Ernesto Miyares) receives a shock when he learns that his third wife, Mercy (Michelle Bonilla), still a stubborn virgin after years of marriage, has fallen for Norry (Joshua Wolf Coleman), a flamboyant drag queen who has hired Mercy to sew his/her wedding dress. Even more dismaying, Kiko finds his 10-year-old son Gustavito (Marcos Padilla) in the arms of the parish priest (Ken Roht).

Desperate to reestablish his slipping control, Kiko moves his family, including his rebellious son Junior (Michael Gabriel Goodfriend), back to his native Puerto Rico. However, love weathers the test of time: Years later, Mercy reunites with the dressed-down Norry; the lovelorn Gustavito, now 15, finds fulfillment with his priest; and Kiko, who has spent much of the action threatening to kill his loved ones, accepts the situation with surprising--make that incredible--equanimity.

Mercy’s relationship with Norry is as sweet as it is unexpected. But Kiko’s 11th-hour transformation from monster to mensch strains credibility, and portraying a child as the never-say-die romantic aggressor in a relationship with an adult, even though that relationship remains unconsummated until the final curtain, begs the issue to a dangerous degree.

*

* “Clean,” Celebration Theatre, 7051-B Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Ends Dec. 17. $15. (310) 289-2999. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes.