‘Queen of Sheba’ Turns Talkative

Set in the Depression-era South, Bill Harris’ “The Queen of Sheba” at the Complex sets forth a fascinating premise but falls victim to its own desultory chatter and a lackluster staging by director Yvette Culver.

A lifelong huckster, Doc Honeygreen (Bob Broughton), has found that he sells more bottles of his curative elixir if Thalia (Adrianne Harris), a toothsome young African American woman, prances around in sateen scanties during his pitch. Billed as the Queen of Sheba, Thalia tours the Southern provinces with Honeygreen, a white man who recruited Thalia into his act when she was on the skids. When Thalia’s proud and volatile husband, E.J. (Spencer Scott), whom she had thought dead, tracks the traveling duo to a backwoods shack, the stage is set for a dramatic confrontation.

But don’t hold your breath waiting for it. The play bogs down in exposition, and as the characters natter on and on, our interest ebbs accordingly. Along the way, we learn the somewhat predictable reason E.J. had to leave his small farm in a big hurry, and we are told of Thalia’s subsequent hardships and eventual metamorphosis from farm wife to sideshow queen.

Bill Harris’ drama has moments of lyricism, such as E.J.’s monologue about his baptism in a river full of snakes, delivered with admirable intensity by Scott. But Harris’ characters are largely stereotypical, and Adrianne Harris and Broughton, though roughly competent, tend toward the obvious in their portrayals. Scott does too, only he brings such fierce conviction to his stock character that he gets away with it.

In a play this talky, it’s essential that the director keep the pace brisk and the energy high. Although she achieves a few nicely naturalistic moments, Culver tends to position her actors in static tableaux, freezing the action for long and logy intervals. Perhaps, given another production, the play might prove more compelling. Meanwhile, however, this “Queen” has been usurped from its full power.

* “The Queen of Sheba,” the Complex’s Dorie Theatre, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m. Ends Dec. 17. $15. (323) 860-3208. Running time: 2 hours.