‘Man’ Tells Lurid Tale of Murder and Lust

If lust, greed and bloodshed is your agenda, why not cut to the chase? Look to the classics--which is precisely what Bruce Fraser did in scripting “The Ugly Man,” now at the Whitefire Theatre.

After all, the present-day entertainment excesses that make such convenient political whipping targets pale in comparison to the routine amusements of 17th century Jacobean Theater. Fraser picked one of its signature specimens--”The Changeling,” by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley--to update into a lurid contemporary tale about a disfigured, murderous ranch hand (Derek Medina) who turns the tables on a pack of sordid schemers.

Medina’s intense, committed performance anchors the piece. His menacing demeanor and the hideous burn makeup on his face and neck do little to quell the ardor of the other characters, who all either have sex with him or want to. As a result, the play is labeled “For mature audiences only”--which means that nothing mature happens in it.

As the imperious matriarch, Marchele Mallari injects some initial class and dignity, but she’s a salmon swimming upstream in this cesspool. The show only gets into high gear when everyone abandons all pretense of restraint on their libidos.

As cesspools go, this one is first-rate, thanks to Don Stewart’s unapologetic, darkly witty staging. However, uneven performances seriously detract from the lurid thrills--there is still a difference between bad behavior and bad acting.

* “The Ugly Man,” Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. This Saturday, Sept. 29, Oct. 7, 13 and 21, 8 p.m.; this Sunday, Oct. 8 and 22, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 1 and 15, 3 p.m. Ends Oct. 22. $18. (323) 969-1707. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.