Greed, Club-Hopping and ‘The American Way’

“If everybody’s doin’ it, can it be wrong?” Such is the rationalization pushed to its limits as writer-director-actor Steve Apostolina’s new play peers beneath the glitzy, giddy facade of the 1990s club scene to discover the all-consuming greed at the heart of “The American Way.”

That our dance clubs seem to be in step with our presidential elections isn’t much of a revelation--on one level, the play is a predictable, textbook exercise in cynicism, in which everybody sells out everybody else. Nevertheless, Apostolina’s portrait is ripe with insider details and finely drawn characters, and his efficient use of every stageable cranny of the compact Ventura Court Theatre succeeds admirably in evoking a realistically gritty backstage tour of Club America, a fictional New York City hot spot.

Particularly well-defined is the club’s pecking order of domination and manipulation, revolving around Apostolina’s own performance as Vic, the sleazy manager who nonchalantly cajoles, bullies and exploits his staff. Skimming door profits in partnership with one employee (Rif Hutton), Vic sets up another, his bartender friend Angelo (Mark Brady), to take the fall. A malevolent personal dimension is added when Vic learns his old girlfriend (Susan Ziegler), another bartender, is seeing Angelo.

Jerking Vic’s chain are the club owner (Stephen Davies, substituting for Nicholas Guest), his wife (Natsuo) and a cop on the take (John Marzilli). At the bottom rung, the club’s techie (Clay Wilcox) is mercilessly downtrodden, building to the breaking point. A flamboyantly gay dancer (Jonathan Nichols) flits through the levels of power. Michael Porter and Rick Williamson round out the ensemble.

Establishing these numerous relationships eats up a fair amount of time and exposition, though Apostolina skillfully weaves them together in the more eventful second act. Since these characters are all more pathetic than sympathetic, however, their ultimate fate is a matter of abstract interest at best.

* “The American Way,” Ventura Court Theatre, 12417 Ventura Court, Studio City. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Dec. 17. $18. (818) 754-5733. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.