Fame wields a double-edged sword for those who come to Hollywood in search of it in Michael Leoni’s Famous, and if the latest from the writer-director of the smash hit Elevator is often flashier than it is profound, it is also without question one of the year’s electrifyingly staged productions, and thanks to the #metoo movement, just about as timely as a World Premiere play can get.

Meet Hollywood A-lister Jason Mast (Christopher Dietrick), the man of the hour since scoring a 1994 Best Actor Oscar nomination, though you’d hardly know it from the way he’s been letting his answering machine pick up call after call this evening or refusing to open his bedroom door to friends and hangers-on.

 Still, that doesn’t stop them from arriving at Jason’s Hollywood Hills residence to celebrate his Oscar nom, among them:

Alyssa Rossi (Megan Davis), currently starring in her gazillionnaire producer dad’s hit TV series (but don’t ask this implant-enhanced sexpot to “play a retarded person or a crippled person or get really fat” even if it would mean an Oscar);

Ryan Logan (Alexander Daly), who might just have snagged a Supporting Actor nomination opposite Jason if his scandalous escapades with Alyssa hadn’t made him the latest tabloid fodder;

Heather Hayes (Decker Sadowski), Hollywood’s new It girl and Jason’s possible love interest in his next flick, a blonde beauty whose virgin status doesn’t stop her from “sucking a lot of dick”;

Brody James (Thomas McNamara), Heather’s boyfriend, “a “nervous talker” if there ever, especially when pitching the coming-of-age script he’s written with Jason in mind for the lead;

Caley Miller (Jacqi Vené), sweet sixteen and currently rocking the heroin-chic look on a Sunset Blvd. billboard but ready to transition into acting, underage sex, and maybe even a few lines of coke along with everyone else chez Jason tonight;

 Dylan Mast (Markus Silbiger), Jason’s pistol-packing fuck-up of a younger brother who might have been a great actor instead of leeching off his older bro while maintaining contact with the mother Jason hasn’t spoken to in years;

Paulie (Kenny Johnston), the sleezeball agent who taught 15-year-old Jason what it took to be a star, including but not limited to shirtless massages, gay blowjobs, and naked pool parties;

Jack Rossi (Gregory DePetro), the Hollywood mega-producer whose “Your word against mine. Who the fuck are they going to believe?” has kept Jason mum until now;

Celeste Whitley (Rosanna De Candia), Jason’s loud-mouthed, power suit-garbed manager since the day he fired Mom (Rachael Meyers), who could have given Lavona Harding a lesson in tough-love parenting back when she was calling her 15-year-old meal ticket either fat or a screw-up or a crying little bitch … or selling him body and soul (emphasis on body) to the highest bidder.

Last but not least there’s 15-year-old Jason himself (Derick Breezee), memories of whom have turned adult Jason into the angry, drug-addicted, antisocial, deeply-wounded superstar he is today.

 Over the course of one nine-hour-long drug-and-sex-fueled night, Famous flashes from room to room, from couple to couple, and from present to past and back to present again in what must surely be the showiest, most tech-heavy theatrical extravaganza in town. (I’m told there are something like eleven-hundred sound and light cues, but who’s counting?)

Not only that, but Conner Youngblood’s nonstop two-plus-hour techno-meets-indie-rock underscoring mixed with the cast’s miked dialog gives Famous a cinematic feel unlike any other play I’ve seen, while director Leoni’s choreography makes it seem almost like a musical minus the songs.

Famous’s 1990s setting allows not only some nostalgic name-dropping (Gwyneth, Winona, Kurt Cobain) but lets its events unfold in a pre-Internet, pre-social media age when sexual abuse could more easily be kept hidden behind closed doors.

 Director Leoni’s entire cast of fame-ready 20somethings (and some more seasoned vets) deliver high-energy performances while mastering the most complex blocking in town, though with most scenes running only seconds, there’s not much chance for them to develop characters, and the terrific but underused Dietrick spends most of the play holed up in his room being passively voyeuristic.

Making particularly strong impressions in featured roles are Sadowski’s ethereal, conflicted Heather, Vené’s frisky teen Caley, and McNamara’s sweetly appealing, nerdy-cute Brody.

 Johnston’s dual roles (he’s also an entirely decent Laurence) and Meyers’ batshit-crazy mother from hell stand out as well, but it’s nineteen-year-old Breezee who delivers the evening’s breakout performance (in his first acting role no less) as the CW-handsome, emotionally wounded Young Jason.

Scenic designer David Offner, lighting designer Martha Carter, sound designer Scott Casillas, hair and makeup designer Linda Michaels, costume designer Larae Wilson, prop master Matt Rumer, and sound engineer Nick Hurtado dazzle throughout.

Famous is produced at the excitingly remodeled The 11:11 by Michelle Kaufer, Erica Katzin, Rebecca Black, and Max Feldman. Kristin Bolinski is stage manager.

 Longer scenes and a more leisurely pace would allow writer Leoni to more fully explore the characters he has created and give his cast the chance to dig deeper into their lives. Then again, that wouldn’t be the unique theatrical experience that Famous proves to be. I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.

The 11:11, 1107 N. Kings Road, West Hollywood.
www.FamousThePlay.com

–Steven Stanley
July 27, 2018
Photos: Genevieve Marie Photography

Tags: Los Angeles Theater Review, Michael Leoni, The 11:11