Pursuit of Fame in ‘The Myth of More’

A young man comes to Hollywood with hopes of becoming a big star, but his career seems stalled after he appears in small roles on two episodes of different television shows. He’s teetering on the edge of failure when a mysterious stranger from Arizona arrives.

The Neurotic Young Urbanites at the McCadden Place Theatre present “The Myth of More,” Lauren Bowles’ pointed portrait of one actor’s all-out pursuit of Hollywood fame. Beginning with a lightly humorous tone that darkens into cynicism, this oft-told tale benefits from John Langs’ snappy direction and his well-produced videos.

In Bisbee, Ariz., the henpecked Dana (Paul Wittenburg) is working as a videographer for weddings when he meets free-spirited Dale (Lauren Cohn, who, in a Freudian bit of casting, also plays Dana’s nagging wife).

She convinces him he needs something else and that he should “search out the more.” With the aid of psychedelic drugs, Dana finds his mission--to bring fame to a talented though little-known actor, coincidentally named Jake More (Patrick Fischler).

Jake’s a hollow man who’s just dumped his agent and broken up with his girlfriend. His manager, Jimmy (Derek Webster), is a smooth-talking leech looking for a long-term meal ticket.

There are plenty of in-jokes, including the Hollywood hopefuls who will sleep with anyone, talent managers’ rotating staff of assistants and the kissy-kissy producers who promise everything and deliver nothing.

Fischler plays Jake as a selfishly focused man without malicious intent but whose emotions are increasingly as artificial as his short-cropped, bleached-blond hair. Webster oozes schmooze. Wittenburg’s Dana awakens from a catatonic state of deadpan to a sleepwalker’s lethargy.

Langs, who with Bowles, Fischler and Wittenburg developed this twisting and twisted story, efficiently uses videos to develop, explain and transition the action, especially involving an entertainment television magazine hosted by the perky celebrity gossip journalist Reno Rocca (Bowles).

Yet the beginning scenes run like video-editing--giving a hint while making an intriguing fusion of live-action and video reality.

Bowles’ story doesn’t say anything particularly new, but this slickly produced package gives it a tarnished gloss worthy of Tinseltown.

*

“The Myth of More,” McCadden Place Theatre, 1157 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends Aug. 25. $20. (310) 572-6748. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.