At This Wedding, Romance Is Dead

Shattered nerves at a wedding reception do not bode well for romantic ideals in the English-language premiere of “Noises” at Santa Monica’s City Garage.

In this brooding, atmospheric riff on failed relationships, French playwright-musician Enzo Cormann employs a jazz-inspired compositional style that cycles through confessional monologues from four increasingly inebriated couples in a dingy hotel bar.

The bride and groom are nowhere to be seen--all that remains of the party are tortured, desperate human cinders voicing their repressed dreams and hollow daily rituals. Though the couples primarily consist of artists, creativity has brought them little solace. In fact, there’s nothing remotely affectionate in their relations.

The neglected wife (Liz Hight) of a painter (Jeff Boyer) seeks respite in adulterous affairs from the impotence affecting her husband’s career and personal life. An actress (Victoria Coulson) performs a haunting impromptu audition in an attempt to recapture the interest of her movie director husband (Mark Phelan), without much success.

Also conducting negotiations with the director is a writer (Stephen Pocock), who tries to verify his virility by humiliating his own wife (Doria Valenzuela). Finally, an obsessed lover (John Burton) chases after his bored, libidinous girlfriend (Erin Vincent). Faced with the unenviable task of cleaning up after these misfits are the somber bartender (Paradorn Thiel) and enigmatic barmaid (Anna Pond).

Frederique Michel’s direction leaves no emotional middle ground, shifting abruptly from static recitation to explosions of fury and passion, often vented on defenseless inanimate objects. (A good deal of fine plastic ware is sacrificed in the process.) Designer Charles A. Duncombe, Jr. maintains the art-noir look and feel that has become a City Garage signature.

Amid the rhythmically repetitive pacing, fans of linear plotting won’t leave the theater humming any main themes. Yet despite the surreal trappings, the piece is uncannily reminiscent of some wedding receptions I’ve attended recently--perhaps an unsettling sign of the times.

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* “Noises,” City Garage, 1340 1/2 4th St. Alley, Santa Monica. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 5:30 p.m. Ends July 18. $20 (Sundays, pay what you can). (310) 319-9939. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.