Detective Partner Hero Villain

Reviewed by Lovell Estell III

Five grisly murders in as many days, and the pressure is on to apprehend the perpetrator. On the job are savvy gumshoes, the Detective (Anthony Backman) and his sinewy, boisterous Partner (Bob Rusch). The trail is cold and there are no leads, so the Detective sits in his office anxiously awaiting a call from the mysterious Hero (Paul Hicks) aka, the Fantastic Phenomenon, who can help crack the case. The call comes, and an assignation is arranged, but as it turns out, this tall, the caped do-gooder not only suffers from existential angst (“I need a friend,” he tells the Detective at one point), he also is given over to obtuse philosophizing about life’s loftier vagaries, which as the play progresses, he does more and more of. Nothing wrong with that, but this is supposed to be a story about a comic book hero, a murderous bad guy, and two good guys. Instead, it clumsily morphs into an effete lecture at the Lyceum.

Soon, even the murderous villain, Super-Nova (Jeff Alan-Lee), tosses in his similarly vague musings, the end result being a play that runs completely off of the rails after a thoroughly engaging start. A muddled, convenient ending delivers the coup de grace. Combining elements of noir and comic book fantasy is a clever idea, but the often innovative Neveu can’t pull this one off. Halei Parker’s costumes are a hoot, and Jonathan Price directs.

A Theatre Connection and SkyPilot Theatre Company at NoHo Actors Studio, 5215 Lankershim Blvd.; N. Hlywd., Fri.-Sat., 8 pm., thru May 24. (800) 838-3006, www.ATheatreConnection.com