Less grave, more live wire this time

THE come-hither chords of the Rolling Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’ ” slash through the darkened Geffen just before Justina Machado makes her entrance in Neil LaBute’s “Some Girl(s),” the twisted romance about a man seeking out his wronged ex-girlfriends just before he heads for the altar.

It’s a fitting intro for Machado, who’s at full sensual throttle when the lights come up -- all hair, lipstick and limbs accenting an endearing naughtiness that nearly overpowers her former lover.

“She’s so free -- I can’t imagine being that free and forward. She’s not embarrassed about being sexual or emotional,” the 35-year-old actress says of her character, Tyler. “I’m all of those things, but not at the same time; I could never throw myself on somebody like that. But she has no guidelines. So I just go for it.”

Audience members who remember Machado’s vivid portrayal as Vanessa, the put-upon wife of mortician Frederico “Rico” Diaz (Freddy Rodriguez) in HBO’s “Six Feet Under,” may do a double take when they first see her as the artist-siren who bears little physical resemblance to the matronly Vanessa.

“I get it all the time in the market and other places. Someone will tell me, ‘Oh, you’re so much lighter and prettier than you were on ‘Six Feet Under,’ ” she says. “People get really surprised when they realize it’s me.”

And though she has always been able to work as an actress, she credits the series with taking her career to a new plateau that has led to a diversity of projects, including “Some Girl(s).” “It was brilliant -- a lot of fun and the best thing that could have happened for me,” she says.

Several critics singled out Machado’s performance in “Some Girl(s),” which stars Mark Feuerstein as the generically named Guy, a writer who feels the need to set things right with four women whom he’d jilted.

The Geffen Playhouse production marks the West Coast premiere of the comedy-drama, also directed by LaBute, the force behind several controversial films and plays (“In the Company of Men,” “Your Friends and Neighbors,” “The Shape of Things,” “Fat Pig”) that examine emotionally broken yuppies.

The play, divided into four two-character duets, also features Rosalind Chao, Paula Cale Lisbe and Jaime Ray Newman.

The scene between Machado and Feuerstein is the most physically charged of the four encounters. Tyler attempts to seduce Guy into one last tryst -- for old times’ sake -- enticing him with body language and cigarette smoke she blows into his mouth. Despite their electric interaction, the dynamics take a more disturbing turn when he tells her the truth about their love affair.

LaBute, who says he admired Machado’s work on “Six Feet Under,” was taken with the actress during her audition for “Some Girl(s).”

“A lot of people tried to push the idea of being sexy,” he says. “But she didn’t try that -- and that’s what felt sexy to me. She was sexy just by being herself. I didn’t feel like I needed to adjust her.”

Relaxing at the Geffen Playhouse a few hours before showtime last week, Machado says she enjoys putting on the sexually aggressive Tyler every performance in which she gets to kiss and provocatively manhandle Feuerstein.

Initially, she says, things were awkward with Feuerstein, whom she didn’t know before the play. But they’re now quite comfortable with their groping. “I can grab his crotch now, and it’s no big deal,” she says, laughing.

In a separate interview, Feuerstein says: “In our business, there are certain actors who are naturally extroverted and are just doing on stage what they do in life, and then others who are shy and receding, but they let all their inner impulses shine on stage.

“Justina is in that latter category. When she’s in character, all of those inhibitions go out the window. She goes from a cynical ex-girlfriend to a completely vulnerable ex-girlfriend.”

The actress says she had no trouble connecting to LaBute’s edgy material. Although she had not seen any of his projects before her audition, she was familiar with his reputation for writing material that many feel victimize women.

“I don’t feel that way at all about this play,” she says. “Every woman I know has had that guy in her life. It feels very authentic to me. If you’ve really lived life, then you know this kind of [stuff] can happen.”

Machado, who grew up in Chicago and got her start at the Latino Chicago Theatre, appeared in several movies and television shows before landing the recurring role of Vanessa on “Six Feet Under.” In Los Angeles, she was seen in the 1996 production of Oliver Mayer’s “Blade to the Heat” and the 2000 production of Luis Alfaro’s “Black Butterfly,” both at the Mark Taper Forum.

Most recently, she appeared in the musical version of “Mambo Kings” in San Francisco. She’s looking forward to the release of films “The Accidental Husband,” with Uma Thurman, and “In the Electric Mist,” in which she plays opposite Tommy Lee Jones as his FBI partner.

“I’m just really happy about all the opportunities that are happening now,” she says. “I couldn’t be more excited.”

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greg.braxton@latimes.com

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‘Some Girl(s)’

Where: Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 3:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays

Ends: March 16

Price: $69 to $74

Contact: (310) 208-5454