Unorganized Crime

Reviewed by Deborah Klugman

In the opening sequence of Kenny D’Aquila’s gangster comedy, directed by David Fofi, Gino (D’Aquila), a frustrated waiter, arrives home from work at his rumpled rundown apartment (an apt set by designer Joel Daavid). He dons an apron and proceeds to the dining room table.

Two life-sized dolls (specialty props by Richard Miranda), costumed for a night on the town, have been positioned at opposite ends, place settings before them.  Gino pours wine into their glasses, then angrily confronts these “customers” about their poor tipping, jaded airs, and whiny complaints. Finally, filled with righteous indignation, he violently pummels the male doll. It’s a moment of satisfying emotional release for Gino, and the most comic highlight in this amusing if unexceptional farce that actually might have packed a solid punch if, among the supporting ensemble, a couple of performers had played it more for real.

The two I refer to include Chazz Palminteri as Gino’s mobster brother Sal, and Elizabeth Rodriguez as Gino’s tough, sexy and oh-so-corruptible wife, Rose. We meet Sal when he shows up unexpectedly, come to tell Gino that his mom has died, the victim of a bullet intended for their dad, a Mafia chieftain. During their conversation we learn that Gino had been exiled from the family three years earlier because he had been unable to carry out a hit.

The menacing Sal offers him a way back in, provided he agrees to Sal’s yet unspecified demands. Under pressure from Rose, who’s fed up with their impoverished existence, and the threat of eviction from the landlord (Jack Topalian), who’s  been screwing her for payment, Gino assents. He instantly regrets his decision when he learns that Sal expects him to shoot someone – that someone being his very own  father (Carmen Argenziano) – an unlovable villain, but hey, a father nonetheless.

It’s a deal with the devil and a lot of what drives the story forward is watching Gino wrestle with his choices, or lack of them.  He’s an ordinary guy with a basic sense of decency, trapped in outrageous circumstances. Eminently watchable, D’Aquila’s down-to-earth performance, as the noose of circumstance tightens around his cuckolded schlemiel of a waiter, holds the production together. The outrageous aspects of the plot become credible because Gino’s dilemma seems real.

It’s hard to say whether that’s because, as a writer, D’Aquila created the character and the story, or whether as an actor he’s simply brought more to the role. As Sal, Palminteri, famous for his cool take-no-prisoners persona, imports the mannerisms he’s used elsewhere; you get the feeling, rightly, that you’ve seen it before.

Rodriguez, a Tony nominee for her role in Stephen Adly Guirgis’ The Motherf**ker with the Hat, where she played a tempestuous coke-sniffing gal with a firecracker tongue, seems to have done likewise. While her Rose has plenty of sizzle, the character’s been fashioned with broad strokes rather than subtle ones. The lack of nuance, from Palminteri and Rodriguez, both skilled performers – is regrettably a spoiler.

Lillian Theatre, 1076 Lillian Way, Hllywd; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through May 31. (800) 595-4849, www.TIX.com