Guerrilla Theater Opens Fire on GOP

Brace yourselves. “Media Whores,” the inaugural production at Gallery SevenZeroSix, is an early entry in what promises to be a rash--or at least a mild outbreak--of politically dissident theater scheduled to run in tandem with the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

Equal time and fair play have no place in writer-director Eric Diamond’s play, a Democratic satire in the most partisan sense that plants the Republicans firmly on the hot seat and turns up the gas. Diamond, who is also in the cast, gleefully bastes the Grand Old Party for its perceived foibles, past and present.

This outing by the Rough Theater company is appealing, irreverent and frequently outrageous, a guerrilla theater attack that spares no one to the right of the political spectrum. It’s also a bit too rough, not to mention bloated and familiar. Despite moments of inspired anarchy, Diamond has little idea of how to channel his messy and clumsily freighted piece, which seems overlong, under-rehearsed and irritatingly long-winded.

Like many an incumbent pol, the fiercely talented performers strive to remain buoyant long after they have overstayed their welcomes. Standouts include David Waterman as an Uzi-toting Charlton Heston, Johnny Base as a consummately grotesque Linda Tripp, and Sean Donnellan as a Machiavellian Tom DeLay. Most hilarious of all is Ben Meyerson, who portrays George W. as a twitchy and befuddled space cadet who has clearly suffered oxygen deprivation in his ascent to the moral high ground.

* “Media Whores,” Gallery SevenZeroSix, 706 N. Heliotrope Drive, Hollywood. Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends Aug. 26. $10. (323) 851-2268. Running time: 2 hours.