So, Who Did What to Whom? Let’s Go to the ‘Tape’

“Tape,” being presented by the Naked Angels at the Coast Playhouse, made such a splash when it ran off-Broadway that it was recently made into a film with Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.

It’s easy to see why playwright Stephen Belber’s “Rashomon”-like story of friendship, drugs and betrayal filled seats during an extended run in New York. Fiercely stylish and at times bitingly funny, the play taps into the galvanic angst of its 20-something male characters, Vince (Dominic Fumusa) and Jon (Josh Stamberg), best buddies in high school who have since gone their separate paths--Vince to small-time drug dealing, Jon to low-budget art film directing. However, Belber’s modern-day amorality tale gyrates through so many plot twists and manufactured “surprises” that it ultimately sprains its dramatic integrity. That’s a shame, because Fumusa and Stamberg, who starred in the New York production, are mesmerizing in these roles, written especially for them by Belber, perhaps best known as a co-writer of “The Laramie Project,” the off-Broadway hit about the death of Matthew Shepard.

Most of the action transpires in Vince’s cheesy motel room, convincingly rendered by set designer George Xenos. Vince, an inarticulate burnout who seems sputtering toward an imminent explosion, has traveled to Lansing, Mich., for Jon’s premiere at a small film festival. The guys hook up for some beer, weed and reminiscences. But behind the boozy badinage, Vince has a hidden agenda--forcing the effusively self-serving Jon to admit that, 10 years ago, he raped Amy (Alison West), Vince’s high school girlfriend.

Or did he? Whether or not a crime actually occurred is at issue in this insubstantial drama, which toys with our notions of reality to a fault. It doesn’t help that director Geoffrey Nauffts has miscast the role of Amy, who enters the picture later in a less showy but nonetheless crucial role. Not that West (who appeared in the most recent off-Broadway production, but did not originate the role) isn’t an attractive and serviceable actor. However, in contrast to the sizzling Fumusa and Stamberg, she borders on the innocuous, putting a further drag on the play’s momentum just when a boost is sorely needed.

F. Kathleen Foley

“Tape,” Coast Playhouse, 8325 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends May 11. $25. (323) 856-4200. Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.

*

The Famous Speak ‘In Their Own Words’

The legends inadvertently skewer themselves in “In Their Own Words: Celebrity Autobiographies,” a literary cabaret of excerpts from star memoirs, playing Sundays at Bar F2. Creator Eugene Pack (whose fascination with this genre stems from Mary Tyler Moore’s description of potato preparation) and a uniformly adept cast avoid impersonations, letting the alleged prose carry the satiric weight.

Such undecorated focus upon often innately risible writing results in hilarious tabloid reader’s theater. The offhanded staging offers successive solo readings, themes varying weekly, and a signature group exercise conflating related material from three different sources.

This last is inspired, the performance under review weaving the confessionals of Eddie Fisher (Pack), Debbie Reynolds (co-producer Dale Rehfeld) and Elizabeth Taylor (Saratoga Ballantine) into an uproarious tell-all cantata.

Other standouts include Ellen Idelson’s brightly incongruous Mr. T., Jack Plotnick’s savagely elfin delivery of QVC icon Kathy Levine’s platitudes, and Steve Atinsky’s devastating interpretation of Elizabeth Ashley at her most scabrous.

The intimate venue recalls the heyday of NYC cafe society legend Julius Monk, minus music and production values. They might take a cue from their Acme Comedy neighbors next door and add a synthesizer for extra texture.

Regardless, the affectionate ruthlessness on display, plus the option of fine Italian cuisine from the downstairs Giancarlo (formerly Farfalla) restaurant, easily recommends this tickling entertainment.

David C. Nichols

“In Their Own Words: Celebrity Autobiographies,” Bar F2, 143 N. La Brea Ave., L.A., Sundays, 8 p.m., $12. (323) 769-5511. Running time: 55 minutes.

*

‘Gangster Planet’ in a Sitcom Universe

A familiar face in film and television for the last 20-some years, Taylor Negron first made his name as a stand-up comic, a caustic observer of society in general and Los Angeles in particular. A professional wasp, Negron has made a career out of bedeviling the sacred cows of popular culture.

However, there’s more buzz than sting to “Gangster Planet,” a revival of the 1993 comedy co-written by Negron and Lawrence Justice, now at the Egyptian Arena Theatre. Although Negron and his fellow actors zing in a succession of trenchant one-liners, the laughs just can’t compensate for a shaky plot and sitcom premise.

Set in 1992, the play revolves around Sandy (Negron), a struggling, pot-pushing Los Angeles resident whose wealthy parents (David Groh and Jeanette O’Connor) have just gone bust, and must now move in with their son while they recoup. Naturally, Sandy isn’t keen on the prospect of so much parental propinquity, particularly with his father, a former cop who sold out his ideals to work for a low-level crime boss. But just as Sandy is adjusting to the invasion of his privacy, the Los Angeles riots erupt.

From the vantage point of Sandy’s Hollywood Hills rental, the dismayed Sandy, his folks and his flamboyantly gay neighbor Menno (Simon N. Butera) watch the city burn below. Not to worry. Inside Sandy’s apartment, the atmosphere is decidedly cozy, and the chatter witty, if a bit meandering.

Director Justin Tanner, himself a noted playwright and director known for his offbeat send-ups of modern culture, pitches the tone of the production just a step above the naturalistic. It’s the right tack for this tongue-in-cheek period piece, a Chautauqua Theatre Alliance production timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the riots. By resorting to the tried, true and predictable, Negron shortchanges that event. However, he and his consistently engaging fellow actors have enough panache to ameliorate, if not overcome, the limitations of their material.

F.K.F.

“Gangster Planet,” Egyptian Arena Theatre, 1625 N. Las Palmas Ave., Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends May 19. $18. (323) 960-8865. Running time: 2 hours.