‘Legal Briefs’ Settles for Two out of Four

“Legal Briefs” is a bill of four short plays about law. This Antaeus Company production at the Ivy Substation has some failures as well as some resounding successes.

Billy K. Wells’ vaudeville ditty, “The Ambulance Chaser,” is a slight, throwaway piece with predictable jokes performed with over-the-top enthusiasm under the direction of Michael Clark Haney.

Dakin Matthews’ translation of Miguel de Cervantes’ “Divorce Court Hell” sinks as low as Hades, and the argumentation doesn’t work for a generation exposed to “Divorce Court” as entertainment. Updating it with present-day couples works against the text, written for a time when divorce wasn’t so commonplace or highly publicized.

Anne McNaughton sensitively directs J.M. Barrie’s “The Will.” A father (Lawrence Pressman) and son’s (John Combs) law firm handles the ever-changing will of a young man (Jeffrey Nordling), who slowly falls out of love with his wife (Francia DiMase). Time also transforms the relationship between the two lawyers.

Under the musical direction of Jan Powell (who is onstage playing the piano for the whole bill), the second half features a wonderfully realized musical that parodies both love and the legal system. John Apicella and Philip Proctor have given Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Trial by Jury” a Los Angeles 2001 twist.

Under the witty direction of McNaughton, this piece displays an alarmingly dead-on array of hilarious Los Angeles types, costumed with flair by Dean Cameron. The actors are exuberant and their voices lovely.

If you have the patience to sit through two acts of near criminal negligence, you’ll be treated to poignant testimony of failing affections and the lyrical aspects of litigation. *

* “Legal Briefs,” Antaeus Company at Ivy Substation, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. June 23, 2 and 8 p.m. June 29, 8 p.m. July 1, 7 p.m. Ends July 1. $16-$20. (818) 506-8462. Running time: 2 hours.