‘Immortality’ Is a Puzzling Comic Romp

The Indecent Exposure Theatre Company’s production of “Immortality” at Los Angeles Theatre Center’s Theatre 4 is an intriguing but messy blend of comedy and didacticism.

Loosely based on Simone de Beauvoir’s novel “All Men Are Mortal,” Susan Rubin’s drama transpires backstage at a Broadway theater, where temperamental star Lysette (Kaitlin Hopkins) is rehearsing a new play. The effort is ill-fated from the onset, despite the frantic efforts of Lysette’s smarmy director Michael (Michael Kostroff) to avert disaster. Not only has Lysette’s co-star gone AWOL, but the tech-heavy production, a sensationalistic recapitulation of history’s goriest debacles, barrages cast and crew with the most dangerous special effects this side of a war zone.

The setting is ripe--at least initially--for a vintage show-biz yarn in the best tradition of Moss Hart or Michael Frayn. Hopkins shines as a prototypal diva, while Kostroff reaches a comic apotheosis as a masterly equivocator who couldn’t say farina if he had a mouthful. Also amusing are James Sie, who plays Michael’s sycophantic assistant, and Kenna Ramsey as a wide-eyed actress who is about to undergo a baptism by fire--literally.

Just when you were all settled down for a long summer’s chuckle, in wanders William (John Vargas), an enigmatic stranger with a secret. As the smitten Lysette soon realizes, William is not only sexy. He’s also immortal--and boy, is he ever carrying a massive burden of angst on his manly shoulders. An eyewitness to history, William is worn out from witnessing and participating in all those centuries of dreary bloodletting. William’s philosophical pronouncements, like “Find the colleagues to make a movement in the history of your art form,” are not only turgid, they interrupt the yocks.

The end result is baffling--a comic romp as rewritten by Spinoza. Director Laural Meade, author of Indecent Exposure’s acclaimed “Harry Thaw Hates Everybody,” tries to reconcile the play’s wildly disparate elements, but her efficient efforts and an assured overall production design fail to bridge the gap. As for Hopkins and Kostroff, they straddle the schism with style and ease.

* “Immortality,” Los Angeles Theatre Center, Theatre 4, 514 S. Spring St. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends July 2. $15. (213) 485-1681. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.