Going to Extremes

A stranger walks into a home where only Marjorie, one of three female roommates, is present. Claiming to be looking for someone whom Marjorie has never heard of, Raul (for it is he) proceeds to attack her. Before the rape can be completed, Marjorie overpowers him. And that’s just the first few minutes of “Extremities,” William Mastromonte’s taut drama of revenge, now playing at Moorpark College.

Roommates Terry (Erin Campbell) and Patricia (Christine Pellett) eventually return; there are conflicting ideas of what to do next: Turn Raul (Romeo Valentino) over to the police, though he vows vengeance upon release? Or take some more drastic action on their own part? This is discussed at some length, all in front of the would-be rapist.

These women are panicked and not particularly bright; Raul, however, has the instincts of a good con man and makes every attempt to divide them. Just as it seems that the playwright can’t figure out a satisfactory ending, he does.

It’s best not to ponder too closely the likelihood of Mastromonte’s setup; the questions raised are important enough to counter that. And the cast members, under Cal Liedtke’s direction, turn in terrific jobs, especially Betsy Brewer, who plays Marjorie, and Valentino. To its great credit, the production is less heavy-handed than the premise suggests, and it’s frequently darkly funny.

After each performance, local rape authorities and law enforcement officers are on hand to participate in a question-and-answer session; Thursday night’s was quite elucidating.

DETAILS

“Extremities” continues Friday and concludes Saturday at the Moorpark College Studio Theater on Collins Road (off the Ronald Reagan Freeway) in Moorpark. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10; $8 for seniors and students. Not recommended for children or impressionable adults. For reservations (recommended) or further information, call 378-1485.

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Backstage Comedy at Conejo Players: It’s opening night on Broadway, and there’s a party going on in the townhouse of first-time producer Julia Budder. While celebrities mingle downstairs, the producer’s bedroom is filled by the show’s author, director, co-star and a few others, waiting for the reviews to come in on television and in the early edition of tomorrow’s newspaper.

“It’s Only a Play,” now at the Conejo Players Theater, is playwright Terrence McNally’s personal love letter to the theater and the people who populate it. The story is negligible, but the play is full of theatrical inside jokes, some of which pretty nearly everybody will get, others more obscure.

For those who know who Gene Saks is, that McNally also wrote “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune” and that Ira Gershwin was George’s lyricist brother, the show--under the direction of Mark Robley Johnson--is a lot of fast-paced, gossipy fun (a critic is clearly based on New York magazine’s acerbic John Simon).

Keith Moreton plays the playwright; Pearl Solomon is producer Budder; Bill Masters plays the director; Christine LaForgia is very funny as the fading actress; Gene Solomon plays the critic with a not-so-secret agenda; Steven Rogers is the playwright’s old friend, an actor who turned down an opportunity to star in the play; and Joe Kozak is impressive as a waiter who’s also an aspiring actor.

Although she appears only toward the end of the play, Celeste Russi comes close to stealing the whole affair as an outspoken cab driver.

DETAILS

“It’s Only a Play” continues Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. through Feb. 19 at the Conejo Players Theatre, 351 S. Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks. Tickets are $10 Thursdays, $12 Fridays, $14 Saturdays. For reservations or more information, call 495-3715.

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“Love Letters for Valentine’s Day”: The Ventura-based Rubicon Theatre Company has announced a quickie production of “Love Letters,” opening Feb. 10 and running through March 5, with a rotating cast--some of international repute and some local legends.

Meanwhile, the group’s long-announced production of “The Little Foxes,” featuring Linda Purl, Duncan Regehr and James O’Neil and scheduled to open next month, has been postponed until April; evidently, one of the “foxes” got a better gig. Both shows will play at the Laurel Theatre in downtown Ventura. For further information, call 667-2900.

Todd Everett can be reached at teverett@concentric.net.