Broken Story
Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
The Sherry Theater
Through Nov. 27
RECOMMENDED
In the summer of 1971, the wife of wealthy Manhattan real estate developer Johnny Klein mysteriously disappeared. Jane Hartman (Lynn Adrianna Freedman), a potboiler novelist and daughter of a Mob boss, was Johnny’s best friend and a stalwart defender of him during the fiasco, which went far in keeping Johnny from being indicted. Tabloid fodder at the time, the case made a lasting impression on Jane’s fan, Jess (Lindsay Danielle Gitter), since for years it was the subject of many a cocktail party conversation at her parents’ Upper East Side home while she was growing up. Jess has always felt an odd kinship for Jane, obsessively absorbing her books and any information on her.
Now, it’s the late 1990s, and as the original case has been reopened, Jane has been murdered, one gunshot to the back of the head in her Beverly Canyon home – on Christmas Eve no less. A botched robbery? A Mob hit? An even richer Johnny? Jess, now an intrepid journalist, of course hops on the first flight to Los Angeles. Thus begins the unraveling of a decades’ old mystery, based on serial killer Robert Durst and writer Susan Berman, with the requisite twists, suspects, and secrets, in playwright Cyndy A. Marion’s engaging reflection on love, jealousy, and mass media manipulation.
Jess finds the door to Jane’s shambolic house unlocked and she is soon joined by Jane’s manager Kip (a suitably skittish David Hunter, Jr.) and best friend Darby (Liana Aráuz exhibiting comedic aplomb). As Jess questions the dodgy duo and they her, the reporter begins piecing the puzzle together, aided by the spectre of Jane. With Jess’s editor (a stoic Rod Sweitzer) being another fly in the ointment, it is all for Jess to keep herself together as she wades through the increasing morass.
Marion lays out her plot through noirish flashbacks and dream sequences, as well as Jess’s reality and imagination. While some of Marion’s storytelling gets confusing and far-fetched – LAPD can be derelict in duty, but one would think locking a crime scene door and window would be SOP – director Tamara Ruppart and her cast make it more plausible by their commitment to their roles and material, especially Freedman and Gitter.
Katelyn Braymer’s lighting design helps, as Jess’s reality as well as Kip’s and Darby’s flashbacks are brightly lit, and Jess’s imaginings and dreams are dimmer. The back walls of Andis Gjoni’s set are plastered with varied-sized plywood triangles that accentuate the shattered lives of all involved. A small stage can be challenging for staging, but Ruppart efforts are inventive and her actors, for the most part, nimbly maneuver the cozy mise en scène.
The Sherry Theatre, 11052 Magnolia Blvd., N. Hollywood; Fri.-Sat, 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through Nov. 27. www.onstage411.com. Running time 85 minutes with no intermission.
