Satirical ‘Shoe Man’ Makes Comic Missteps

Not every peculiar character we come across warrants our time and attention, whether in a bus station or on the stage. Case in point: the oddball human potpourri in “Shoe Man,” a disappointing new comedy by actor Jeff Daniels at North Hollywood’s Theatre Unlimited.

Despite a quirky premise mixing infidelity, moral hypocrisy and golf, Daniels’ play never forges a unified comic vision from its diverse satirical targets, which range from generic suburban stupor to weirdly specific obsessions. Via flashbacks from her prison cell, heroine Sally (Julie Dolan) relives the circumstances that led to the killing of her husband, Sam (Charlie Hartsock), a philandering shoe salesman. Sam keeps pressuring Sally to learn to play golf, claiming it would save their marriage, even while he’s carrying on with the trashy cashier (Leslie Harter) at the local gas mart. Jolted out of her complacency by the discovery of Sam’s philandering, Sally’s odyssey of revenge and survival has the potential to evoke some degree of sympathy and interest.

But director Pamela Hall gives far too much free reign to her cast for that to happen. Most of the resulting caricatures lack the kind of credible foundations that would make their foibles tolerable. Particularly egregious are an underage private eye wannabe (Brad Brizendine) obsessed with the old “Mannix” TV series, a whining golf instructor (Dennis Gersten) unhappy with his life, a stereotypically sleazy lawyer (William Lampley), and a local pastor (Peter Savard) who fancies himself a hell-fire Baptist trapped in the body of a repressed Methodist. The more successful Harter and Elizabeth Wells (as the lawyer’s pun-slinging secretary) temper exaggeration with sharper focus.

Unfortunately, “Shoe Man” aspires to the emotional mayhem of a Preston Sturges comedy without the subtlety in dialogue or staging to pull it off.

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* “Shoe Man,” Theatre Unlimited, 10943 Camarillo Ave., North Hollywood. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Feb. 28. $15. (818) 762-4980. Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes.