‘MsTrial’ a Potent Salvo in Detente Between Sexes

A society in cultural flux that looks to its legal system to supply an ethical foundation inevitably falls short in the gray areas of human conduct. As a former prosecutor-turned-actor and writer, Dep Kirkland examines these limitations with an insider’s eye in his new drama “MsTrial,” a sobering study of a workplace flirtation that leads to sexual assault.

In a handsome staging at the Court Theatre, Kirkland stars as John Paris, a hotshot trial attorney whose knack for pushing the buttons of opponents, juries and even his own staff has him poised for a big win in a wrongful death suit. To secure victory, he has recently fleshed out his legal team with Karen (Amy Laxineta), an ambitious young lawyer who’s as smart as she is attractive.

Paris makes no secret that Karen’s good looks are key to his legal strategy. Karen willingly goes along, gamely joining in the ongoing office sexual banter as they prepare for the trial. But in the aftermath of a drunken celebration, Paris’ talent for skirting moral principles lands him in big trouble when their hitherto innocent flirting propels him into skirt-chasing beyond Karen’s boundaries. In a harrowing scene that flawlessly builds accelerating dramatic tension, Laxineta’s Karen goes from enticing tipsiness to panic as she tries to stop her boss’s advances.

Kirkland depicts a convincing steely determination that brooks no opposition in or out of the courtroom. Surprisingly in short supply, however, is the sympathetic charm that a lawyer of his success would use (if even cynically) to complement such an acerbic intellect. This makes it difficult to accept his prickly relationships with his staff--his younger cousin John (Daniel Burks), the play’s foundering moral compass, would presumably be too accustomed to Paris’ theatrics to fall for his constant needling without some underlying affection for his mentor. And Paris gives little basis for Karen’s admitted attraction to him.

Forced to take sides between two people he cares about, Burks’ impassioned John is a welcome contrast to Paris’ ice, but director Barry Satchwell Smith still needs to smooth out the distractingly choppy beats in their exchanges.

A second-act deposition (helped by Jessica Steen as an increasingly exasperated prosecutor) establishes all the legal ambiguities that make the incident impossible to resolve in the courtroom. Kirkland is careful to lay out the reasons (including a measure of complicity on the victim’s part) and ultimately establishes the moral culpability from which Paris cannot extricate himself. His shattering recognition is a potent reminder that whatever progress may have been made in diplomacy between the sexes, it’s a long way from understanding.

“MsTrial,” Court Theatre, 722 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends June 16. $25. (323) 655-8587.Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.