A quixotic Bertolt Brecht
scholar (Davey Johnson) is being terminated by his university, and his exit
interview is with a deeply religious woman (Catie LeOrisa) who praises the Lord
no matter what evil befalls. Their scenes are cleverly written, and well
performed, but interspersed by a dubious running gag of a lone gunman shooting
offstage. There are sacred cows, for sure, but school massacres are hardly food
for comedy.
It was like watching
Saturday Night Live with a group of extraordinarily talented performers doing a
series of numbers, some brilliant others asinine, with a screeching bunch of
cheerleaders as openers that almost had me running for the serene Hollywood outdoors.
Perhaps the best skit was
a Catholic priest (Rich Hutchman), Irish and affable enough to be a man of the
cloth, who chastised the professor for losing his faith. Another delightful
sketch was a self-loving TV host (Wayne Wilderson) giving notes to a bewildered
guest (Jocelyn O’Keefe) before the TV cameras rolled. 
All the actors deserve
applause, but the show was confusing as it leaped from farce, to an
indictment of hypocrisy, to a slap against religious people. Perhaps my sense
of humor is skewed but when the gunman finally appeared it was disturbing to
realize that anything is grist for a laugh nowadays.
Written by William
Missouri Downs, directed by Sirena Irwin, and produced by Andrea Hutchman and Craig
Anton for Buzzworks Theater Company..
At The Lounge Theatre, 6201
Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood, through Nov 15. Tickets: 323-960-7712 or www.plays411.com/exitinterview
Photos by Carl Steinbauer.
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