Kron Returns With Spirited, Touching ‘Ride’ About Family

Lisa Kron’s autobiographical solo show “2.5 Minute Ride,” at the Tiffany, is a lovingly rendered family miniature, produced from the inner pocket of memory.

In her whirlwind monologue, which premiered at La Jolla in 1996 and played briefly at UCLA in 1997, Kron interweaves three unlikely narratives--her family’s hilarious outing to an amusement park, her reclusive brother’s online courtship and subsequent wedding, and her harrowing trip to Auschwitz with her elderly father.

Mark Brokaw’s economic staging underscores Kron’s down-to-earth persona. A natural storyteller, Kron transmutes everyday minutiae--a stroll through a mega-mall, a search for a decent restaurant in Poland--into broader social commentary. Against this backdrop, however, the portrait of Kron’s father emerges as monumental. A frail, legally blind man with a heart condition, Kron’s father journeys to the death camp where he lost both his parents.

In flashback, as an Allied interrogator rooting out Gestapo for punishment, he confronts the ethical mess of Hitler’s Reich. Yet this is the same man who risks heart attacks and macular hemorrhages to ride on roller coasters--the badder the better. For all his travails and tragedy, he remains boyishly delighted with all life has to offer.

The “slides” of Kron’s family--bare patches of light--call upon us to fill in the blanks. Despite this cunning device, occasionally abrupt segues cause this triptych to sag a bit. But Kron’s portrayal of her father bolsters this poignant piece, and bespeaks the remarkable resiliency of the human spirit.

BE THERE

“2.5 Minute Ride,” Tiffany Theater, 8532 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 and 7:30 p.m. $25-$32.50. Ends March 5. (310) 289-2999. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.