A Missionary’s Zeal in ‘Heathen Valley’

Romulus Linney’s “Heathen Valley” at the Stella Adler Theatre is atmospherically realized under the sensitive direction of Alex Wright and the lilting recorded music provided by the Eight Hand String Band. The cast’s earnest, sparse portrayals complement Steven Griffith and Wright’s bare wood plank stage, with burlap mountains in the background.

Linney’s morality tale traces the attempt of an ambitious bishop (Geoffrey Wade) to Christianize the lost souls in a secluded Appalachian valley community in the 1840s, as seen through the eyes of a church-schooled orphan, Billy (Sam Ross). Guided there by Starns, a church janitor (Griffith) who was born there, the bishop and Billy find living embodiments of hillbilly stereotypes.

These ragged, dirty folk--Harlan (Sean Bridgers), his wife, Cora (Iris Bar-Ziv), and the local midwife (Amelia White), along with other unseen denizens--indulge in murder, incest, adultery, infanticide and superstitions.

When the bishop is away on his many fund-raising trips, Starns tends to the church, dispensing common-sense solutions that win the respect of the people he once lived among. Yet the bishop, driven by his own theological demons, eventually alienates these simple folk by enforcing a harsh discipline.

Wright’s direction guards against preachiness, pointing out the rigid folly of the bishop and the simplicity that dooms Starns without judging them. Bar-Ziv’s Cora and Bridgers’ Harlan are trying to live their lives according to their ingrained beliefs; they’re not stupid or spiritually corrupt, just stubbornly fixed in their views.

This is not an indictment against religion, but a mournful tragedy of best intentions blinded by personal limitations.

* “Heathen Valley,” Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends Aug. 26. $18. (818) 972-9171. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

Style Has the Upper Hand in ‘Zastrozzi’

Leather, lace and music with a contemporary sensibility give a stylishly modern dash to an unevenly cast production of George F. Walker’s “Zastrozzi,” at the Complex’s Ruby Theatre.

Director and sound designer Richard Hochberg’s interpretation of this revenge tale has a certain audiovisual flair, but it also reduces some of the acting to pretty posing. Evan Bartoletti’s set has a sense of careless dishabille and provides ample opportunities for Brian Reynolds’ athletic, sword-fighting choreography.

Reynolds, as the title character who’s hunting down his mother’s murderer, doesn’t emote the icy cunning of Europe’s most feared thief and sometime art critic (he killed a man over bad art). But he does look dashing in his loose red shirt and tight black leather pants

His target, the harmlessly loony Verrezi (Michael Piscitelli), always assumes guises that are “pleasantly artistic” in his attempts to evade Zastrozzi. Zastrozzi’s lover and occasional partner in crime, Matilda, is played with ferocious glee by Bari Hochwald in a midriff-baring flared pants ensemble with a red cape.

Precious Chong is wonderfully daft as the virginal lust object of Verrezi, Zastrozzi and, eventually, Zastrozzi’s henchman Bernardo (Steve Heinze). Randall Rapstine as Verrezi’s clever servant also provides comic relief. But under Hochberg, neither Piscitelli nor Reynolds manage any psychological depth, giving us style without much content.

* “Zastrozzi,” Ruby Theatre, the Complex, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Sept. 24. $15. (310) 289-2999. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

‘Secret Nymph’ Flirts With Modern Politics

If a U.S. Senate candidate were carelessly cavorting in hotels with various campaign volunteers, and his wife were fund-raising by whoring at home with a plumber, a fireman and a porn star (not to mention her torrid though unconsummated affair with the candidate’s campaign manager), do you think it would stay a secret for as long as eight months?

In this post-Gary Hart, Monicagate world of savagely scandal-hungry media, it’s hard to believe that a sex farce set in the present day could have such a premise. But Mark Troy’s “The Secret Nymph of New Hyde Park,” at the American Renegade Theatre Company, is full of plot holes.

The plumber (Jose Spinoza) is in love with the $100-an-hour call girl, Marcia (Anne Marie Howard). To further the plot, the plumber’s homebody wife, Josie (Bonnie Gillespie), conveniently converts to infidelity on Marcia’s advice. Marcia’s hubby, senatorial hopeful Edmond (Kurt Sinclair), is a dim bulb who doesn’t notice his wife and his assistant (Albert Felice) making out on the couch behind him.

Troy’s script has some clever bits, but the humor is mostly juvenile. Character development is neglected in favor of serving the various plot contortions. Director Joel Colman doesn’t give this weak script the frenetic energy it needs, and presents the secondary women as bimbettes.

Eleanor Lee’s costume designs are tasteful, even when drifting into bimbo-land, and William York Hyde and David A. Cox’s set design gives us comfy suburbia.

But you’d probably have just as much fun at home flipping through a Victoria’s Secret catalog.

* “The Secret Nymph of New Hyde Park,” American Renegade Theatre Company, 11136 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. $12-$15. Ends Aug. 26. (818) 763-1834. Running time: 2 hours.