Nothing Funny About ‘Flip’s’ Unlikable Folks

Tom Rooney’s comedy “Flip” might have benefited from more flippant performances by TheSpyAnts at the Lex. Instead, it teeters between revelation drama and soap opera, neither choice being particularly funny.

It’s a dark and stormy night, filled with cancellations for the fifth wedding anniversary dinner party of John (Greg Woodhill) and his wife, Jake (Staci Stuedle), who are arguing. The first guests, Arthur (Jerry Pappas), and fiancee Judy (Jocelyn Jackson), let themselves in and hear the angry voices that float from the kitchen across the dining room to the living room. Dick (Peter Smith), a sleazy, philandering lawyer, and his faithful wife, Heather (Carisa Engle), soon arrive. A hard-drinking ob-gyn, David (Jonathan Godfrey), who was Jake’s college boyfriend, and his current bimbette, Lisa (Natalie Compagno), stumble in late, already slightly liquored up.

The sexual entanglements of these four couples begin to unravel. Jake may or may not be pregnant, though not by her husband.

The sound of rain comes and goes abruptly in Peter Smith’s sound design. Director Danny Parker-Lopes has the cast play it straight--from the hissable Dick to Lisa, who made a living out of extortion.

Set designer Marina Mouhibian’s color scheme assaults the eyes--a light yellow wall for the full kitchen, pumpkin orange walls and a well-set, autumn-themed table in the dining room, a raspberry-colored wall for the comfy living room.

As a comedy, “Flip” isn’t funny enough. Some lines are too obvious, and only Pappas’ good-guy Arthur is worth caring about.

* “Flip,” the Lex, 6760 Lexington Ave., Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Dec. 17. $15. (323) 993-8608. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.