Brett Hinkley (Photo by Bob Turton)
Reviewed by Martín Hernández
The Actors’ Gang
Through February 21
RECOMMENDED
Stephanie Pinnock and Brent Hinkley (Photo by Bob Turton)
A foray into the psyches of sundry storybook characters, the lurid antics of careerist nuns, the conflicts between a son and father. If there is one word linking this trio of original one acts, it is audacious, as each balances the wild and the whimsical with varying dramatic results.
Where do fairytale characters find support as adults after being traumatized as children by wicked witches, bear families, and big bad wolves? In Recovery, playwright Mary Eileen O’Donnell’s satiric yet sympathetic take on those with PTSD, Pinocchio (Jimmy Berry) laments the derision he gets for not being a real boy, Little Red Riding Hood (Zoe Molina) and Goldilocks (Jolene Hjerleid) find solace in their mutual dysfunction, and Gretel (Stephanie Pinnock) reproves her brother Hansel’s (Pierre Adeli) grisly search for new protein sources. Their long-suffering Therapist (Guebri Van Over) reluctantly supervises a rowdy group therapy session, in which a soused and lecherous Humpty Dumpty (a ribald Brent Hinkley), a coy Wendy (Madison Davis) from Peter Pan, and all their fellow characters may not be able to be put back together again but at least they keep at it. Not all the jokes hit their mark, but the concept, abetted by the actors’ humorous performances and Vincent (VJ) Foster’s able direction, is revealing and a reflection for anyone familiar with the ups and downs of therapy.
As they lay their deceased Mother Superior to rest, Sisters Judith (Pinnock), Veronica (Megan Stogner), and Edith (Van Over) engage in an unorthodox succession process in writer/director Willa Fossum’s Nun Fight. Fossum skewers the hypocritical machinations of the Catholic Church, portraying the nuns as ostensibly demure brides of Christ whose lust for power is unmasked as they move sinuously about the stage in hysterically lascivious dance moves. They draw the ire and interest of their Priest (Berry) — with whom some of the nuns have an unconventional relationship — and the apathy of Jesus Christ (Ayindé Howell), who gets summoned when the Priest and nuns invoke his name during an eccentric exorcism ritual.
Howell returns as himself in 16 Summers, a funny and poignant one-man show about growing up Black and his complicated relationship with his father. “Patience is a virtue even though it may hurt you,” is the motto his father instills in the young Ayindé, who at 13 in 1992 is impatient about masturbation. With no clue how to go about it, Ayindé eventually resorts to the painful mechanics of “beating the meat.” Prowling the stage like feral cat, he relates episodes from his past: tales of his youth in Tacoma, Washington, where his mom and dad owned a local grocery store, his stint in New York in 2007 as a budding poet and actor, and his return to Tacoma at a critical point in his life. With the aid of an electric beat box, Howell at times spits out poetry about his love life and childhood. He covers a lot of ground in a short time under director Gloria Isabel Briseño’s sturdy staging. Howell is engaging both as a writer and a performer, with a knack for characterization whether it be his antagonistic and street-smart cousin, the woman he falls for on a New York street, or as his own contradictory and complex father.
Patrick O’Connor’s wall projections complement each scenario, with chalk like drawings depicting the varied environments that ensconce the plays’ characters. Kudos to designer Ryan Vogel’s inventive costumes and to fight choreographers Chas Harvey and The Engineer, as well as lighting designer Bosco Flanagan for a psychedelic battle royale in Nun Fight.
The Actors Gang, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City.; Thurs. and Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru Feb. 21. boxoffice@theactorsgang.com Running time: two hours and 10 minutes with an intermission.
