New Faces Retain Tanner’s ‘Bitter’ Edge

Justin Tanner, playwright laureate for L.A.’s young and unsettled singles, finally allowed someone other than himself--Lisa James--to stage one of his plays, using a number of actors who are new to his work rather than his standard repertory company.

The vehicle is “Bitter Women,” his 1993 hit about the inhabitants of a Silver Lake apartment building. The production is in the familiar environs of Tanner’s home base at the Cast Theatre, but who are all those new faces up there?

Well, a few of them look familiar. Julia Campbell, in the pivotal role of jobless L.A. newcomer Nancy, has played some glamorous roles at the Matrix Theatre, but here she’s very different: mousy, with black-rimmed glasses and a high-pitched voice that sometimes squeaks at the wrong moment, befitting someone who feels painfully vulnerable.

Anita Barone plays Nancy’s aerobicized roomie with a bit more self-satisfaction and less desperation than did Tanner regular Laurel Green--which is fine; Barone’s funny as well as foxy.

The lesbian couple next door are played by Sarah Zinsser, in the role of a jaded phone sex mistress, and Susan Dalian as her younger, heedless friend. Jenny O’Hara plays the landlady, a tough taskmaster one minute and an affable buddy the next. The only holdover from the play’s original cast is Dana Schwartz, re-creating her role as an amiable pizza deliverer. Matthew Glave provides the play’s male energy as the handyman who falls for one roommate while being pursued by the other.

James doesn’t let the dialogue overlap quite as feverishly as Tanner does when he’s directing. And now there’s an intermission, which adds a little weight, not unwelcome, to the pacing.

Otherwise, however, this funny and heartfelt glimpse at a young woman’s rough-edged welcome to L.A. has changed very little--which is good news.

*

* “Bitter Women,” Cast Theatre, 800 N. El Centro Ave., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Nov. 21. $15-$17.50. (323) 462-0265. Running time: 2 hours.