Emotional Honesty Marks ‘Kerouac’s’ Characters

Nancy Balbirer, author and solo performer of “I Slept With Jack Kerouac,” is far too young and attractive for her claim to be taken at face value. It’s something of a relief, therefore, to discover that her affair with the legendary beat author took place in a metaphorical fantasy, that the laws of time and chronology still hold.

Nevertheless, there’s a compelling emotional honesty in the trio of autobiographical monologues making up Balbirer’s performance piece at the Gascon Center Theatre.

Snapshots of her life at three distinct stages--girlhood, young adulthood and sadder-but-wiser survivor of a failed romance--Balbirer’s narratives implicitly deal with the private prisons we create in our illusory pursuit of freedom. Throughout, Balbirer’s versatility as she slips in and out of multiple characters keeps her tales engaging and lively, even when the events are mundane.

The first story recounts her childhood fascination with her grandly bohemian Aunt Bessie, a cross between Mame and Rosanne, who careens between manic free-spirited indulgence and suicidal depression over her battle with weight problems. Her gushing over young Nancy’s pottery even as she uses it for an ashtray elegantly distills the character.

The second tale, wittily juxtaposing Miss Nancy’s debutante experience in cotillion class with her days as a cage dancer in a hot Manhattan club during the ‘70s, sports specimens of upper-crust pretenses and drug-scene lowlifes.

Balbirer’s masterpiece, however, is her portrait of Sofina, the earthy Fran Drescher-like urban occult pharmacist Nancy consults after her breakup with her soul mate, a jazz musician who believed himself to be the reincarnation of Jack Kerouac.

Sofina’s hilarious prescription triggers a surreal encounter with the spirit of the Beat novelist, in which Balbirer comes face to face with her romantic illusions.

A common pitfall of autobiographical works is the assumption that details of personal history are as fascinating to others as they are to the author, and Balbirer’s monologues lapse into preciousness at times. Nevertheless, brisk staging by Laurie Wooley, live musical accompaniment and Balbirer’s particularly strong poetic closing wrap-ups make it worth spending time in her company.

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“I Slept With Jack Kerouac,” Gascon Center Theatre, 8737 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. (Dark Sept. 22). Ends Sept. 28. $15. (310) 289-2999. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.