Musical Gem Trolls for Answers

For a gay man, the ravages of time can be particularly, well, ravaging. Gay culture is, after all, notoriously image-conscious. So, when his chin starts to droop and his pecs descend southward, what’s an aging gay guy to do, adrift in a sea of picturesque young gay men who label anyone older than 40 a “troll”?

In their new musical “Trolls” at the Coast Playhouse, Bill Dyer (book and lyrics) and Dick DeBenedictis (music) deal with just that issue, uproariously. But don’t come to “Trolls” expecting purely comical camp, although there’s plenty of that to go around. Dyer and DeBenedictis have weightier matters in mind, elemental concerns of love and death and sex and the undying kinship of true friends.

The characters have gathered for a modest memorial party in honor of a departed pal, Boomie (Jeffrey Paul Morgan), an actor who had more success in his friendships than in his career. The party’s host, Terry (Richard Fox) was Boomie’s old theater chum. Other mourners include the flamboyant Juan (J. Michael Ferniany), fitness nut Phillip (Rundy Duphiney), transgendered Jo (Wandachristine) and gentle Michael (Michael Storer), Boomie’s ex-lover and best friend. Also joining the festivities are Blane (Jeff Pierce), Phillip’s hunky ex; Myrna (Barbara Allyne Bennet), Boomie’s arch-conservative sister; and Boomie himself, a high-stepping spirit unseen by the others.

“Trolls” has its warty patches. Dyer’s book leaves no sentiment unexploited, and Eugene Taylor’s direction stresses the obvious, such as having muscular Blane spill a drink on himself as an excuse for him to strip to a T-shirt. But the songs are priceless, and the actors sell them with the right combination of glitz and unabashed sentimentality. Just a tweak or two away from something very special indeed, “Trolls” is a gem in the rough that could put some sparkle in your season.

“Trolls,” Coast Playhouse, 8325 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 and 7 p.m. Ends Jan. 6. $20. (323) 655-8587. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

F. Kathleen Foley

*

A Not So ‘Happy’ Look Back at Vaudeville

Robert Gifford’s “Happy Panties” at the Complex is supposed to be a tribute to vaudeville but will more likely make you want to celebrate that genre’s demise. This Bone Productions presentation, directed by Sparky Douglas, doesn’t rise above high school theatrics.

Gifford’s story is simple--a girl has two suitors. But in a contemporary twist, one is a boy (Douglas) and the other is a “grrrl” (Moxy Milosivich).

The lesbian suitor is suave, self-assured and commandingly Russian, while the boy is awkward and desperate. The object of their affections is played as a shrill-voiced baby doll by Lily Ledoire. Think Betty Boop and Olive Oyl rolled into a yellow flapper dress.

Besides slapstick, which includes a lot of spewing of teeth (white beans, I think), there are a gratuitous ninja scene and pseudo-intellectual discourses on scene transitions.

Brenda Holzknecht’s set design has a cartoonish, off-kilter motif that might fit if the cast’s comic timing weren’t off kilter as well and the pacing is a tad self-indulgent. Although Aaron Welch and Andrew Rogers’ sound design hops between musical eras (disco to swing), the tunes are the best part of this irritating show.

*

“Happy Panties,” Ruby Theater at the Complex, 6467 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Dec. 23. $15. (323) 934-3071. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes.

Jana J. Monji