Akuma-shin 

Reviewed by Terry Morgan 
The Broadwater Main Stage 
Through April 28 

Alternate reality stories have long been popular, and there are a couple of main reasons for their appeal. First, it’s just fun to extrapolate how history might have proceeded if things had been different. Second, these stories provide an opportunity for authors to use a fictional reality to comment upon our own. That’s certainly the intent in Kenley Smith’s Akuma-shin, which posits a timeline after a Godzilla-like monster has destroyed Tokyo, complete with altered versions of historical figures and events. It’s an intriguing premise, but underwhelming writing and an uneven production prevent this Sacred Fools production from being the monster it could be.

In 1956 a giant monster, referred to as “Akuma-shin” or “god demon,” destroyed the city of Tokyo, and continues to rampage around the planet years later. A public television panel has convened various celebrities to discuss this issue, from witnesses Truman Capote (Amir Levi) and Yukio Mishima (Reuben Uy) to disbeliever William F. Buckley, Jr. (David Wilcox). As Norman Mailer (Paul Parducci) starts fights and the panelists argue, the world devolves into anger and chaos.

Wilcox is excellent as Buckley; more of an incarnation than an impersonation, he captures the man’s mannerisms and essence in a caustically witty portrayal. Levi is also very good as Capote, aptly approximating Truman’s vocal delivery; he’s particularly fine in his monologue about encountering the beast in Vietnam. Uy is less believable as both Mishima and a Japanese-American radio engineer, but much of this is due to Smith’s clunky dialogue for these characters. Parducci brings bluster to the pugnacious Mailer, but is even better as Curtis LeMay, grimly preparing for a bomb drop that will likely kill many civilians.

Director Scott Leggett does his best to keep the disparate plates of Smith’s concept spinning, but on opening night some of these dishes hit the tiles, with a few ill-judged performances and delayed set reveals. Joe Jordan’s sets are cleverly conceived, however, and Jaime Robledo’s sound design does much of the production’s heavy lifting by creating a vivid sonic atmosphere.

Smith writes comedy (Capote has written “Of Cold Blood” and Mailer writes “The Saurian’s Song”) better than she does drama, but regrettably there is much more of the latter in evidence than the former. One of the problems is that Smith doesn’t seem to know whether her play is a serious drama about the aftermath of a kaiju attack or a metaphor for everything bad in the world — and it falters as a result. Tacked-on criticism about Trump seems like overkill (building a wall to keep the monster out, handing out rifles to every person in Texas), and co-opting images such the naked “Napalm girl” photo and images of 9/11 for this Godzilla story simply feels tasteless.

Sacred Fools should be commended for continually tackling shows this offbeat and ambitious, but Akuma-shin is an unfortunate misfire.

The Broadwater Main Stage, 1076 Lillian Way, Los Angeles; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through April 28. www.sacredfools.org. Running time: approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission.