‘Jive Bomber’ makes a return

First produced in 1993, “A Jive Bomber’s Christmas” has become an on-again, off-again tradition at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. Set in the Japanese internment camp at Manzanar, this original musical by Saachiko and Dom Magwili is a broadly comic, unabashedly sentimental holiday entertainment that makes a touching statement about resiliency during hard times.

Plans for a cabaret-style Christmas pageant are made by Jackson, a.k.a. the Jive Bomber (Kenzo Lee), a big-band nut with a bootlegged supply of Hit Parade releases; Kei (Grace M. Kim), the de facto camp leader while her brother is with the U.S. forces in Europe; and others.

If a few of the “singers” are a shade too convincingly amateurish and the second act a bit overlong, the overall tone is so sweetly upbeat it’s easy to forgive the occasional shortcoming.

Musical director-pianist Marc Macalintal and percussionist John Rodarte provide sprightly live musical accompaniment throughout this engaging -- and often bittersweet -- perennial.

F. Kathleen Foley

*

“A Jive Bomber’s Christmas,” Japanese American National Museum, 369 E. 1st St., L.A. 7:30 p.m. today, 2 p.m. Sunday. Ends Sunday. $15 and $20. (213) 625-0414. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

‘Brain’ full of fun

In “The Brain From Planet X” at Los Angeles City College, an alien cerebral mass plots to drain Earth of emotion, beginning in the San Fernando Valley. If Bruce Kimmel and David Wechter’s musical parody of 1950s sci-fi films isn’t exactly original, it’s often wildly funny, generally enjoyable fluff.

Upright inventor Fred (Kevin Spirtas) and impossibly perky Joyce (Lauren Rubin) are living in what they think is suburban bliss until a spaceship crash disgorges the Brain (Egbert Bernard), looking like a giant Hostess Snowball, which launches its scheme with help from toadying Zubrick (Cason Murphy) and oversexed Yoni (Alet Taylor). “Planet X” is best when it lampoons itself, usually through Kimmel’s catchy numbers. His witty staging draws on a galaxy of deliberate cliches, and under Richard Berent’s musical direction, the cast smartly cavorts.

David C. Nichols

*

“The Brain From Planet X,” Camino Theatre, Los Angeles City College, 855 N. Vermont Ave., L.A. 2 and 8 p.m. today. Ends today. $15. (323) 664-2787. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.