Poignant Reminder at Heart of ‘Beast’

When the Turks witnessed the 1893 lunar eclipse, they shot at the “wild beast” covering the moon. Two years later, they shot at their neighbors, the predominantly Christian Armenians.

Richard Kalinoski’s drama “Beast on the Moon,” at the Fountain Theatre, follows two Armenian immigrants adjusting to life in Milwaukee in 1921. Anna Der Nersesian as Seta, the young picture bride, beguiles as a frightened child--grateful to be alive, yet afraid of her photographer husband, Aram Tomasian (Michael Gabriel Goodfriend), whom she married by proxy. Goodfriend brings a kindly, controlled intensity to Aram.

The chemistry between the two creates an electric, palpable atmosphere of trauma, dangerously exposed by frayed nerves and barely submerged memories.

As the narrator, Buck Kartalian adds a humorous light touch that doesn’t always fit into the flow of the production. Franck Beaulieu (who alternates with GianCarlo Canale) is only adequate as the young orphan who wins a place in the Tomasian family. Goodfriend’s proficiency with a large format camera isn’t always convincing, but this is a minor complaint.

Aided by Haig Yazdjian’s recorded musical compositions, Edwin Gerard Hamamdjian’s direction moves the action well, and his transitions mostly smooth over the script’s brief and slender time-passing scenes.

From Jeanne Reith’s subtle costume design to John Patrick’s set design to Anne Vardanian’s dialect coaching, this beautifully detailed production is a poignant reminder of a little-known genocide--and the hope and refuge that the United States has only sometimes been able to provide.

* “Beast on the Moon,” Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 and 7 p.m. Ends Sept. 24. $18-$22. (323) 663-1525. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

An Uneven Telling of ‘Emmett Till’s’ Story

The murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till, after the boy whistled at a white woman during a trip to Mississippi in 1955, exposed the dichotomy between Southern racism and the more tolerant atmosphere of his native Chicago. For years, his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, refused to tell her story.

But here it is, in “The State of Mississippi vs. Emmett Till,” by Mobley and David Barr, at the Complex Theatre. While it has a few moments of emotional punch, it’s crudely constructed. Its emotional core is hollowed out by bitterness and a myopic vision.

The Unity Players Ensemble production, under the direction of Spencer Scott, is also hindered by awkward transitions, poor staging and problematic technical aspects of sound and lighting. As Emmett, Leon Frierson has a likable, wide-eyed innocence, but the script doesn’t develop his character beyond a basically good boy with an embarrassing stutter. Trina Price (alternating with Vickie Hubbard) as his mother is by turns bitter and determined, but she can’t overcome the script’s lack of psychological depth.

Accused killers Roy Bryant (Michael David Selig) and J.W. Milam (Michael Brignac), and Bryant’s wife (Liz Jacobson), are caricatures. The NAACP’s Roy Wilkins (Ben Tyler) is painted as pompous and posturing when he butts heads with Mobley.

Justice for ethnic minorities was hard to come by in 1950s America, especially in the South. But Mobley doesn’t appear to have a clear understanding of the legal machinations of the trial. The program notes also indicate that there was some type of emotional toll on the accused men, even though they were acquitted, but there are no allusions to this in the play.

In her single-mindedness, Mobley reportedly refused to rewrite or take conceptual suggestions, but the play needs revisions before Emmett Till’s story can find an authoritative voice on stage.

* “The State of Mississippi vs. Emmett Till,” Complex Theatre, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m. Ends Sept. 24. $15. (323) 860-3208. Running time: 3 hours.