Lost for a while in ‘Little Egypt’

Following the plot and character motivations in “Little Egypt,” the world premiere musical now at the Matrix, is a bit like following a path of bread crumbs through the forest. After a while, the trail gets pretty thin.

Based on her play, Lynn Siefert’s frustratingly choppy story about the romance between mall security guard Victor (French Stewart) and brainy depressive Celeste (Sara Rue) veers from clownishness to high drama and back. Gregg Lee Henry contributes musical numbers that are pleasant, but frequently more interruptive than integral.

The action is set in southern Illinois in 1982. Both loners with traumatic pasts, Victor and Celeste fall hard for each other. However, because of the machinations of Victor’s pal Watson (Henry), their romance may be doomed. Also troubled is the relationship between Faye (Jenny O’Hara), Celeste’s frowsy mother, and the married town mayor Hugh (John Apicella). Even more disastrous is the affair between Celeste’s sexy sister Bernadette (Misty Cotton) and the amoral Watson.

With the exception of Victor, the men are cads who use and abuse women. With the exception of Celeste, the women are too emotionally retarded to defend themselves. That may be simplistic, but it’s comprehensible, due largely to the conscientious efforts of this able cast. The problem is in tone, which is initially so broadly comedic, it’s campy. That’s fine until deep in the second act, when we are barraged with plot twists, all dropped into the action like leaden afterthoughts. The tonal shift is so radical that it feels as if, after intermission, we’d wandered into the wrong theater.

Stewart’s performance as the hapless Victor is the heart of the play. It’s a hugely eccentric turn, so far over the top that it’s oddly heroic. However, typically assured director Lisa James indulges her star overmuch. When Stewart must segue from slapstick to genuine distress, his blatant posturing comes back to haunt him, and any scant emotional veracity is largely lost.

“Little Egypt,” Matrix, 7657 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Ends July 11. $30 and $35. (323) 852-1445. www.matrixtheatre.com. Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes.