Nothing is what it seems in
playwright Eric Rudnick’s wacky tale of double and triple cross in modern-day
Hollywood. If we accept the truth of what is before our eyes, e.g. a loving if
eccentric father, a delightfully bratty kid, a talented wannabee actress and a
sympathetic neighbor, then the trick is on us.
Here’s the plot as it unfolds:
an unemployed writer is married to a rich woman he cannot divorce without
losing everything. He hatches a plot to get her to divorce him by having his
mistress impersonate a psycho-analyst who, through auto-suggestion, gets his
teenage daughter to recall him sexually abusing her when she was six. Hi Ho, apparently
the scheme works – he gets the divorce and $7 million pedophile-separation pay.
However, in the end, the scam turns on itself and one discovers this jigsaw
puzzle was not assembled honestly.
Still, the confusion is amply
relieved by a wonderful cast that glow under Steven Williford’s brilliant direction. Danton Stone is delightfully shy and devious as Dad; 14 year old Brighid Fleming is amazingly sharp and
self-contained as his outspoken daughter; Tim Meinelschmidt is a genial cipher as his supposedly helpful friend,
and Murielle Zuker is beautiful, enigmatic and sylph-like
whether as waitress, therapist, or lover. Mo Gaffney is an offstage voice
warning about Day Trading, and effective emphasis is added by onstage drummer
Josh Imlay.
Undaunted
by the Multi-Media, Jazz-Bar, Warehouse-at-the-Bootleg experience, the Scenic Design by Stephen Gifford, Lighting by Jared
A. Sayeg, Sound by Ivan Robles and Costumes by Michele Young capture the LA
scene succinctly.
This World Premiere
co-production is from Bootleg Theater and
Small American Productions, and plays
through February 16th. At The Bootleg Theater 2220 Beverly Blvd. Los
Angeles. Tickets at (213) 389-3856 or www.bootlegtheater.org
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