Some New ‘Pictures’ of One Family’s Life

Richard Kline, as an absentee father, sails through Neil Simon’s “I Ought to Be in Pictures” with ease, squeezing out all the laughs from a slightly updated revival that opened in Whittier’s Shannon Center on Saturday and continues at four other Southland venues for the next four weeks.

The minor changes to Simon’s 1980 comedy about a daughter who hitchhikes and sometimes just hikes from New York to her father’s bungalow in West Hollywood are offhand remarks about more current movie stars and movies, such as Sandra Bullock and “Saving Private Ryan.”

Bradley Kaye’s cheery yellow set lets you know there’ll be no dark revelations or regrets here. Kline’s Herb may be down on his luck, but he isn’t relegated to some dingy place where even the cockroaches don’t dare run. This is happy-ending land.

Stacy Altman’s performance as the daughter, Libby, is sometimes forced. But director Jules Aaron makes the most of this fluffy bit of family fare, and the actors--including Ilene Graff as Herb’s sometime girlfriend--play off one another well.

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* “I Ought to Be in Pictures,” Saturday, 8 p.m.: Smothers Theatre at Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, (310) 456-4522, $35. Next Friday-Feb. 12, 8 p.m.: Norris Theatre, 27570 Crossfield Drive, Rolling Hills Estates, (310) 544-0403, $30. Feb. 18, 8 p.m.; Feb. 19, 2 and 8 p.m.: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara, (805) 963-0761, $25-$35. Feb. 26, 8:30 p.m.; Feb. 27, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 29, 8 p.m.; Gindi Auditorium, University of Judaism, 15600 Mulholland Drive, Bel-Air, (310) 476-9777, Ext. 203. $25-$30. Running time: 2 hours.