‘Beauty Queen’ is one-hit wonderful

Apart from “The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” Martin McDonagh’s plays haven’t set the theatrical world on fire, leading some observers to dismiss McDonagh as a one-hit wonder.

But his one hit remains wonderful: a play that can generate poignancy, laughter and heart-pumping melodrama under the right conditions.

Many of those conditions are right in Anthony Caldarella’s staging of “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Hollywood. This production -- incredibly enough, the play’s first professional outing in Los Angeles -- boasts a gifted and mostly Irish cast and a detailed Victoria Profitt set that’s correctly scaled for a play that’s set entirely within four walls.

Still, the pacing and continuity between scenes was slightly off during the reviewed performance. The audience began applauding -- as if the play had just ended -- when there was still one scene to go. This was hardly fatal; the production appeared to have the ingredients that might fully jell later in the run.

Helena Carroll plays Mag, a possessive mother in rural Ireland who keeps her resentful 40-year-old daughter, Maureen (M.J. Karmi), in servitude. Carroll is notably more rotund and less spry than Ann Gee Byrd, who played the role in the Southland premiere at South Coast Repertory in 2000; Carroll looks like a sneaky old owl. And Karmi’s fiery red hair suggests the inner passion roiling beneath her squared-off countenance.

Playing Pato, the gentleman caller who offers a ray of hope for Maureen, is Tim Murphy, who played the same role at South Coast. He’s salt of the earth all the way, and Jason Killalee is an amusing counterpoint as Pato’s younger, ruder brother.

“The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” Hudson Backstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m., 7 p.m. Ends Nov. 23. $20. (323) 856-4200.

--Don Shirley

*

FrEAk StORM’ has its moments

David Lynch, Amy Tan and “The Man Show” collide in “FrEAk StORM,” playing the Victory Theatre in Burbank as part of EdgeFest 2002. Matt Pelfrey’s new one-act about the inscrutability of those we love juggles macabre comedy, relationship drama and political incorrectness to variable effect.

Kipp Shiotani’s staging begins with Gil (Ray Chang) and Ian (Chil Kong) driving to Los Angeles in “Lost Highway” mode. They voice misgivings about each other and the wedding to which they are traveling, alluding to an unsettling secret involving the groom.

This would be Adam (Michael Ordona), discovered sacked out with fiancee Lynn (Esperanza Catubig) on the couch of their Los Feliz apartment. Their dialogue suggests a missing second-generation thread from “The Joy Luck Club.”

The travelers arrive, spouting quips like, “My dad said getting married is like reading the same book for the rest of your life.” Their forthcoming revelation turns things downright grisly.

Pelfrey is undeniably talented, demonstrating a flair for bilious ribaldry. The tech is resourceful, with Isaac Ho’s lighting and Cynthia Q. Ignacio’s props proving crucial.

Chang’s twitching stoner and Kong’s deadpan misogynist are alternately funny and affecting. Ordona takes a while to match Catubig’s fine interior work, but he nails his climactic confession.

The play has its moments too, but the plot jump-cuts and stylistic hybridization feel implausible in the immediacy of a 99-seat theater. While “FrEAk StORM” is certainly original, Pelfrey’s idiosyncratic approach seems more suited to the cinematic arena.

“FrEAk StORM,” Victory Theatre, 3326 W. Victory Blvd., Burbank. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m., Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Nov. 17. $12-$14. (323) 993-7245. Mature audiences. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.

--David C. Nichols

*

Pass on ticket to ‘Union Station’

It’s amazing how quickly stories can derail. The romances set aboard trains in “Union Station,” for instance, hardly get out of the depot before running off the track.

Written and directed by Chuck Rose, this trio of tales is being presented at West Coast Ensemble on weeknights when the company’s acclaimed production of “The Grapes of Wrath” is not performed. A stage is the only thing that the shows share, for “Union Station” is a mere rehashing of plot contrivances, filtered through a sitcom sensibility.

In the first story, a clean-cut, square-jawed pharmaceutical salesman (Larry Toffler) boards a New York-bound train at L.A.’s Union Station, when, much to his consternation, he is joined by one beautiful woman (Alyss Henderson) and then another (Diahann Klein).

On a New York-to-Los Angeles train, a seemingly innocent encounter between a young woman (Julie Petrosky) and a kindly, fatherly sort (Jerry Kernion) takes a turn right out of “The Sopranos.”

Having been tangled in the first two stories, the train’s conductor (Mark Alan Walker) becomes the focus of the third: a quickly wearying soap opera that reunites him with his former fiancee (Tania-Lee Bayliss).

Although Rose’s staging is as haphazard as his writing, he is very nearly rescued by a cast determined to root out whatever truth it can in these ridiculous situations. But in the end, there’s no salvaging this train wreck.

“Union Station,” West Coast Ensemble, 522 N. La Brea Ave., L.A. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Ends Nov. 7. $15. (323) 525-0022. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.

--D.H.M.

*

Rewarding insights in WWI drama

George Bernard Shaw wrote “Heartbreak House” with World War I weighing heavily upon his mind, and the play reflects his frustration with Europe’s cavalier attitude in the face of that calamity. He depicts a world frittering away its days in desire, vanity and the pursuit of money, while distant thunder builds into a cataclysm of falling bombs.

Yet for all his perturbation, Shaw couldn’t help but feel tenderly toward his neighbors, viewing even the scoundrels with humor and sympathy.

A staging by Theatre 40 keeps these contrary impulses in almost perfect balance, providing laughter and insight.

The action takes place in an English manor house built to resemble a ship -- a “house without foundations,” as one character describes it. In Jeff G. Rack’s design, the house is thrown further off-kilter by zigzagging walls and skewed doors and shelves.

This is fitting symbolism for a story in which characters turn on a dime, seeming to switch philosophies midstream and undergo personality make-overs. The shifting perspectives make this play one of Shaw’s most challenging. But the story possesses an internal logic, which director Stephen Tobolowsky patiently pieces together.

The audience sees “Heartbreak House” through the eyes of Ellie Dunn (Fleur Phillips), a young working-class woman who is invited to the family home of Hesione Hushabye (Jennifer Parsons), the free-spirited daughter of the eccentric, world-weary global traveler Captain Shotover (Tobolowsky). Soon, the house fills with representatives of all walks of European life, among them: a fat-cat capitalist (David Hunt Stafford), a handsome layabout who fancies himself an adventurer (Patrick Lander) and Ellie’s pure-hearted, innately wise father (Jack Gregory).

In December, Tobolowsky will reprise his Tony-nominated “Morning’s at Seven” performance at the Ahmanson. Meanwhile, he’s the last-minute replacement in the role that sets this show’s mood. He brings an almost mystical sense of humor to the part, waving his arms and waggling his fingers as if casting spells.

“Heartbreak House,” Theatre 40, 241 Moreno Drive, on the campus of Beverly Hills High School. Thursdays-Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Nov. 10. $18-$20. (310) 364-0535. Run time: 3 hours, 20 minutes.

--Daryl H. Miller