‘Noise’ Is Involving Look at Cost of Economic Depression

Echoes of John Osborne permeate “Noise,” receiving its U.S. premiere by the Furious Theatre in Pasadena. Alex Jones’ slashing 1997 drama of the perils of economic depression frequently suggests a latter-day “Look Back in Anger.”

It begins with teenage factory worker Dan (Damaso Rodriquez) bringing pregnant bride Becky (Vonessa Martin) to their new home, a shoddy Black Country government housing flat (strikingly designed by Shawn Lee).

The grimy comic atmosphere soon darkens, as blaring techno music from next door awakens the couple on their first night out and continually thereafter. An official appeal to the authorities brings their neighbor, dashing slacker Matt (James C. Leary), in search of rapprochement while Dan is at work.

This leads to harrowing developments symbolizing the lost innocence of post-Thatcher England.

Director Sara Hennessy marshals her forces with assurance. Besides Lee, the solid design roster features notable contributions from Christie Wright’s lighting and Eric Pargac’s sound, and the cast is estimable, managing the Birmingham dialects without sacrificing intelligibility.

Rodriguez and Martin, wisely avoiding teen mannerisms, have an easy chemistry that renders their plight doubly poignant. Leary conceals his imbalance beneath layers of roughhewn charisma, recalling the young Terrence Mann.

Jones’ impressive architecture occasionally tips the sociological hat, and the intermission is questionable, halting the accelerating tension. These are quibbles, though, as the nail-biting intensity of the disturbing climax demonstrates the acute impact this haunting work achieves.

David C. Nichols

“Noise,” Furious Theatre at Armory Northwest, 965 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena. Fridays-Sundays, 8:30 p.m. Ends July 21. $15.00. (818) 679-8854. Mature audiences. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.

*

‘Fluffy Bunnies’ Flirts With the Edge

Dating--eeeewww. Like “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” the off-Broadway musical revue that played downstairs at the Coronet Theater in 1998, and “Maybe Baby, It’s You,” which closed in May upstairs at the Coronet, “Fluffy Bunnies in a Field of Daisies” takes the stage to examine the mating rituals of attractive young heterosexuals who don’t seem to have much to do with their days but agonize over sex or the lack thereof.

Although the first two shows play it safe with a dose of greeting-card schmaltz, the screamingly funny “Fluffy Bunnies,” a new comedy written and directed by Matt Chaffee at Hollywood’s Zoo Theatre, hops much closer to the edge of desperation, sending up, rather than reveling in, sitcom platitudes.

Against a set with absurd cartoons of outsized happy rabbits looming through every window, these “fluffy bunnies” are frolicking not among daisies but among landmines--and there’s as much horror as humor in wondering whether they’ll make it through with their sanity intact.

Though raunchier and more down-and-dirty than anything in “I Love You, You’re Perfect” or “Maybe Baby,” “Fluffy Bunnies” seems more plaintively honest than deliberately gratuitous. And, amid all the graphic sexual specificity, the three guys and a girl central to this story become obsessed with an age-old philosophical question: whether women can be divided into two camps, virgins and whores.

This line of inquiry would be notably insulting if it didn’t lead to so much more angst among the male characters than the women, who use the guys’ obsession with knowing the answer to the has-she-or-hasn’t-she question to skillfully mess with their minds, reducing them to a babbling, pleading, satisfying incoherence.

“Fluffy Bunnies” doesn’t really answer the virgin-whore question--but when in doubt, why not do a big production number? Act 2 opens with just such a brilliantly out-of-place bit of Terpsichore, choreographed by lead dancer Sangini Majmudar, who plays a hilariously unhinged romantic in the first act, then seizes the moment to illuminate the lunacy of modern-day dating through dance.

Diane Haithman

“Fluffy Bunnies in a Field of Daisies,” Zoo Theatre, 1611 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Fridays-Sundays, through July 28. $14. 323-460-4233. Running time: 2 hours.

*

‘Three Grooms and Bride’ Emphasizes the Personal

For two couples--one gay, one straight--an attempt to cut costs by doubling up on their marriage ceremonies turns into “the ‘Waterworld’ of wedding parties” in Gary Goldstein’s agreeable new comedy, “Three Grooms and a Bride,” at West Hollywood’s Coast Playhouse.

As in his previous works, Goldstein’s strengths as a playwright are his facility with likable characters and warm, sympathetic humor--which should not be confused with sentimentality.

The important distinction is that the conflicts Goldstein explores are not the result of mischievous or malicious plotting (the easy way to introduce tension) but rather of imperfect people trying to do the best they can but falling short because of their limitations. Sustaining interest without relying on an obvious villain is a tougher challenge, and Goldstein’s success in this regard is noteworthy.

Here, the frustrating logistics of planning the joint wedding ultimately become a test of both couples’ relationships, as motives come under scrutiny and buried secrets come to light.

For the gay couple, “tying the knot” is the pivotal issue simmering under the surface. It’s an important demonstration of commitment for Adam (Seth Resnik), while Zack (Michael Otis) scoffs at his partner’s need for “some kind of Good Housekeeping seal of approval,” preferring to keep their relationship private and under wraps.

For the controlling Wendy (Stephanie Venditto) and her easygoing fiance (Christopher Jacobs) most of the hurdles involve dodging the complications introduced by the gung-ho wedding planner (a plum comic role played to the hilt by Anne DeSalvo), who commits them to ever more grandiose arrangements. The high comedic value of this angle notwithstanding, Goldstein spends more time with it than he needs to--postponing until midway through the second half a far more important conflict arising from a revelation about Paul’s past.

In keeping with the venue and target audience, the piece is weighted far more toward gay-oriented material. Randy Brenner’s staging lets no opportunity slip by to indulge in the gratuitous beefcake that’s become de rigueur for the genre.

More important, he also coaxes credible, engaging performances from his entire cast, particularly from the feisty Venditto, who holds her own in what is predominantly a boys’ club. The use of celebrity voice-overs for the answering machine messages left by the characters’ families is a cute but nonessential gimmick.

Though the topic of gay marriage figures prominently here, Goldstein carefully contains it within a personal rather than a legal context. Having a wedding ceremony is important as a validation of a relationship, but the implicit issues involving coequal rights in society at large are given a wide berth. That doesn’t make Goldstein’s play any less amusing or enjoyable, but it does limit its significance.

Philip Brandes

“Three Grooms and a Bride,” Coast Playhouse, 8325 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Aug. 4. $25. (323) 654-8111. Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes.

*

‘The Tempest’ Is Not a Perfect Storm

“The Tempest” is one of Shakespeare’s most accessible plays, with its comic interludes, its acts of magic and its depiction of the thin line between revenge and forgiveness.

A great deal of imagination has been invested in bringing these qualities to life for the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company’s outdoor production in Thousand Oaks. Director Michael J. Arndt has transferred the story of Prospero--a deposed scholarly duke-turned-magician--to the 19th century, with its breathtaking advances in science and technology, and the designers have rendered Prospero’s island paradise as a Jules Verne fantasy of art nouveau style and Machine Age wonder.

Although the production is nice to look at, its core is missing. Too few of the performers convincingly bring their roles to life and, as of opening weekend, hesitation between lines and awkward pauses between scenes sapped the presentation’s energy. Meanwhile, a mushy, buzzing sound system swallowed many of the words.

On the upper platform of a two-level set, designer Mary E. Murdock creates an aerie filled with scientific equipment--Prospero’s headquarters as he uses magic to shipwreck those who once conspired against him, then sets out to reeducate them about life’s true priorities.

Lane Davies’ Prospero carries a staff with a glowing glass orb, and a variety of exotic puppets (designed by Murdock and Howard Schmitt) are employed to create the story’s elaborate phantasms.

But Davies himself isn’t nearly so magical. His Prospero is grand and mellifluous but never reels toward the madness that makes the character so hauntingly ambiguous. For complexity, the production must rely on Derek Medina, who brings vulnerability and wounded pride to the otherwise monstrous Caliban, the island’s would-be ruler. And for enchantment, the presentation has Megan Goodchild, who lends freshness and wonder to the role of Prospero’s daughter, Miranda.

Daryl H. Miller

“The Tempest,” Kingsmen Park, California Lutheran University, Mountclef Boulevard south of Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. Today-Sunday and July 19-21, 8 p.m. $5, adults; free for 18 and younger. Open seating; bring blankets or low-rise lawn chairs. Special seating: $10, chairs; $35-$50, lawn boxes. (805) 493-3455. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.