Asta Leigh (Photo by Cassandra Ropert)
Reviewed by F. Kathleen Foley
Odyssey Theatre
Through November 5
RECOMMENDED
It’s seven days until her 40th birthday, and Lola Luvv [sic] hasn’t accomplished the goal she set for herself when she arrived in Hollywood from her native South Africa some years ago. Lola doesn’t just intend to establish herself as an actor. She wants to achieve the pinnacle of superstardom, and in an industry that doesn’t take kindly to sags, bags and age spots, her “use by” date is about to expire.
A dog walker facing eviction, Lola happens to see A-list director Alejandro Iñárritu at an Altadena Whole Foods. That chance sighting strikes Lola as a sign from the cosmos that she will shortly be cast as the lead in Iñárritu’s upcoming television series. To that end, she tapes a series of highly personal and increasingly desperate YouTube videos and posts them to her director idol in the unshakeable belief that she’s got the role sewn up. Her online stalking gains her dubious notoriety, but her pitifully overblown notions of soon-to-be stardom — delusions carefully nurtured since her abusive childhood — ultimately crash headfirst into grim reality.
A solo show that initially played the Hollywood Fringe Festival, Befok (or the Desperate Attempt to Impress Iñárritu), now in a short run at the Odyssey Theatre, features writer/performer Asta Leigh as Lola, an indefatigable fantasist whose comical/tragical escapades range from the sitcom-esque (complete with laugh track, courtesy of Mark McClain Wilson’s excellent sound design) to her descent into something very much like madness.
Befok is an Afrikaans word meaning anything from awesome and cool to “not right in the head,” and Lola embodies the word in all its permutations. Under the direction of Matt Ritchey, Leigh (clad, appropriately enough, in a form-fitting leopard print jumpsuit) prowls the stage like a jungle cat, striking extravagant poses. (Jackson Funke’s lighting design frequently frames Lola in a follow spot, an ideal indication of her self-deceptive grandiosity.)
Yet comedy, no matter how offbeat, must remain rooted in the microcosm of the given story. Leigh, in combination with “story-crafter” Ritchey, takes the character of Lola so far over-the-top that she dangerously strains our credulity. As just one example, Lola’s surprise on learning that she’s not getting paid for a non-paying film shoot in West Covina seems a bit much, considering her years in the trenches of Hollywood, however peripheral. Additionally, the prevalent theme about an aspirant being chewed up and spit out by the Hollywood Dream machine is familiar to the point of trite.
However, Leigh’s deliciously quirky Lola — wounded, ever-hopeful, bouncing back from the depths of humiliation and disgrace — takes us over well-trod territory with such unexpected twists and turns that we put aside those reservations, sit back, and enjoy the journey.
Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. Thur.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m., thru November 5. (310) 477-2055 ext. 2. www.OdysseyTheatre.com Running time: 80 minutes with no intermission.
