A heroine seen as if in a dream

“Tonight, I must think about death,” begins “Judith: A Parting From the Body” at Theatre of NOTE, and pending mortality permeates the proceedings. Radical neoclassicist Howard Barker reworks the apocryphal story of Israelite widow Judith and Assyrian general Holofernes into an oddly-absorbing psychosexual allegory.

Written around 150 B.C., the Book of Judith is one of the disputed biblical stories called into question by Judeo-Christian scholars throughout history. The saga of how a nationalistic widow infiltrated the tent of Nebuchadnezzar’s commander on the eve of the siege of Jerusalem is a natural for Barker (“Scenes From an Execution”), one of the most singular voices of the postmodern British stage.

Barker advocates for a truly tragic theater, and his austere, sculpted prose aims for the widest-possible audience response through deliberate ambiguity, unexpected humor and philosophical zigzags. “Judith,” which lasts little over an hour, moves about designer Erin Brewster’s drapery-laden set as a mercurial gavotte for warlord, seductress and servant.

Under director Tom Beyer’s quiet guidance, the restrained, intense staging keeps poetry and polemic in balance, despite a shade more glee than theater of catastrophe needs. The designs suggest an arcane dream, particularly Hiwa Bourne’s costumes and Mark McClain Wilson’s sound, and the actors are impressive.

Julia Prud’homme locates the supplicant and the voluptuary in Judith with staunch assurance, and Wilson turns Holofernes into a multileveled character study of arresting depth. As Judith’s acerbic servant, Krista Conti has an anachronistic wit that spurs the urgency of the narrative.

Its grisly climax comes off slightly stilted, and Barker supplies enough subtext for three plays. Yet, though audiences may not totally lose their heads over “Judith,” the complex human clashes carry this erudite parable.

-- David C. Nichols

“Judith: A Parting From the Body,” Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, 7 p.m., Sundays, through Nov. 14; resumes Nov. 30, 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. Ends Dec. 16. $15. (323) 865-8611. Running time: 1 hour, 5 minutes.

In a strong voice, ‘Millie’ chimes in

Loosely based on the 1960s film of the same name, the musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” which premiered at La Jolla Playhouse, garnered an impressive number of Tony nominations when produced on Broadway in 2002, earning a Tony Award for best musical and another Tony for breakout star Sutton Foster in the title role.

It was a slow year. “Millie,” which features mostly new music by Jeanine Tesori, new lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and an often-clever book by Richard Morris and Scanlan, is intended as a retro romp, laced with plenty of in-jokes for theater buffs. However, it is an overlong and sappy entertainment, with a couple of flagrant Asian stereotypes that are a bit too retro for comfort. The attempts of the creators to redress the problem by matching one of the Chinese characters with a wealthy Caucasian ingenue seems an obvious sop to political correctness -- too little, too late.

That caveat aside, the show’s present production by Musical Theatre West at the Carpenter Center has plenty of genuine charm. Director-choreographer Troy Magino boosts his somewhat uneven ensemble to a crisply professional level, and musical director Dennis Castellano gets heavenly sounds out of his vocally-gifted leads. In the title role, Kate Fahrner has the requisite combination of cuteness and pluck, and while she’s only a serviceable hoofer, her terrific voice carries the day.

Kurt Robbins, who plays Millie’s man-about-town love interest, has a bookish offhandedness that lends genuine interest to his potentially trite character. And in the breakout comic role of the evening, Kami Seymour steals the show on more than one occasion as Miss Flannery, a sourpuss steno-pool manager with a corkscrew bouffant and hidden depths.

-- F. Kathleen Foley

“Thoroughly Modern Millie,” Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach. 8 tonight, 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Ends Sunday. $36 to $52. (562) 856-1999. Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes.

A ‘Taxi’ ride that just breezes along

Taxi driver Nasrudeen (Mueen Jahan) may take his customers to every corner of the city, but he dreams of a more spiritual transport: building a storefront mosque in his neighborhood, and calling the faithful to prayer. Meanwhile, his family has more earthly visions of paradise. Rabaab (Anna Khaja) just wants a working dishwasher; their son Omar (Christopher David) hates being taunted as a “towel head” at school; and his father-in-law (Avner Garbi, rounding out a trio of engaging performances) just wishes his daughter had married someone with a little sense.

Nasrudeen’s trials and consternations drive Mark Sickman’s benign comedy “Taxi to Jannah,” a kind of “It’s a Wonderful Muslim American Life,” currently at the Fountain Theatre. Director Deborah Lawlor keeps the pace up, and the likable Jahan offers a committed, starry-eyed performance in keeping with the play’s unabashedly sweet tone. But it’s hard not to wish that the story had a bit more depth and grit.

Like Scott Siedman’s set, which tries to keep up with the play’s multiple locations by squeezing a kitchen, a taxi and a mosque rather literally on stage, “Taxi” feels a little too hectic. It offers a rare glimpse of Muslim life in America but doesn’t slow down long enough to give us a good look.

-- Charlotte Stoudt

“Taxi to Jannah,” Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Ends Dec. 3. $25 and $28. (323) 663-1525. Running time: 2 hours.