A man-sized cockroach with the body of a gay porn god offers a cock-addicted aspiring TV writer unexpected aid in dealing with his father’s imminent death in Eric Reyes Loo’s raunchy, risk-taking, emotionally rewarding dysfunctional-family dramedy Death And Cockroaches, a Chalk Repertory Theatre World Premiere.

 Loo’s protagonist is none other than the playwright himself, for whom “two ample-sized cocks – probably white – in my mouth, and another two DP’ing me from behind” might be just what the sex doctor ordered for temporary relief from his cantankerous, terminally-ill Chinese-Hawaiian father and a helplessly ineffectual Mexican-American mother.

Admittedly it’s not really the 30something “Chexican” Loo appearing onstage at the Atwater Village Theatre but the nearest facsimile thereof, Indian-American actor Sunil Malhotra, arms a-flailing, mouth a-moving a mile a minute, and captivating as all get-out while dealing with life-and-death issues as best he can.

 If only Eric could persuade his Dad (Kelvin Han Yee) to stick to a potentially life-extending diet (no salt, no beef, no tomatoes, not even a grain of white rice) or his Mom (Eileen Galindo) to take some responsibility for her husband’s welfare. (“It’s a lot of pressure.”)

If only Dad’s medical care were in the hands of a more bedside-manner-blessed physician than Claudia de Vasco’s Doctor, one who’d take the time to explain a patient’s condition to his justifiably distressed son rather than just telling him “It’s all on google.”

 If only Eric’s older, straighter brother Pat (Justin Huen) would do more for Dad that an occasional phone call from Portland, where a wife and infant daughter provide a convenient excuse to pass the buck to Eric, whose recently ended five-year relationship with Reilly (Walter Belenky) fell victim to his ex’s alcoholism.

On the plus side, when Eric’s pantry-cleaning efforts at the family home are greeted by an intrusion of cockroaches, who should emerge but Cockroach (Belenky), clad in tighty-whities, a gas mask, and nothing else and offering to be around whenever Eric needs a friendly ear. (That the magnificently sculpted Cockroach is a dead-ringer for Reilly may be either a coincidence or a Freudian trick of Eric’s mind, you take your pick.)

 If all this sounds like more than a bit of a theatrical hodgepodge, it is, and perhaps even more so when comedy takes second place to the gritty reality Eric must face as his father’s condition worsens, leaving the family no alternative but to hire an in-home caregiver (de Vasco as Vera) and await the inevitable end.

But it’s a hodgepodge that works, thanks to Loo’s from-the-heart writing, a decidedly one-of-a-kind protagonist, family members so authentic they can only be based on the real thing, Jennifer Chang’s snappy, incisive direction, and an all-around superb cast headed by a bravura Malhotra, vanishing so thoroughly into Eric’s unabashedly flamboyant, un-self-censored Chexican skin, you’d scarcely guess this was the same actor whose Indian-accented Vinod romanced an older woman in East West Players’ A Widow Of No Importance a half-dozen years back.

Supporting performances simply could not be better, from Galindo’s well-meaning but obstinately helpless Mom to Yee’s incurably irascible Dad to Huen’s all-too-willing-to-pass-the-buck Pat to de Vasco’s night-and-day different Doctor (all business, no heart) and Vera (as deeply caring as she is self-sacrificing), and the scruffily sexy Belenky is the hot-as-blazes hunk any gay man would want around, imaginary Cockroach or not.

Scenic design Sarah Krainin’s white-walled set utilizes hospital curtains and a couple of doors to ingenious effect, aided by Anna Robinson’s locale-evoking projections. Rebecca Bonebrake’s lighting, Halei Parker’s costumes, and Colin Wambsgans’ sound design are equally first-rate. (No properties designer claims credit for the wall full of supersize latex cocks that figures prominently in Eric’s fantasies.)

 Death And Cockroaches is produced by Ruth McKee and Peter Wylie. Bryan P. Clements is production stage manager and Millie Graham is assistant stage manager. Chad Smith is technical director. Raymond Castelan, Sara Guerrero, Kyle Hester, Alberto Isaac, and Lorena Martinez are understudies.

Family dysfunction has taken centerstage countless times before, and Eric Reyes Loo is far from the first playwright to tackle terminal illness and loss, but rarely has this been done with more originality and flair than in Death And Cockroaches. Just remember to leave your prudishness at the door.

Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave., Atwater Village.
www.chalkrep.com

–Steven Stanley
November 15, 2018
Photos: Peter Wylie

Tags: Atwater Village Theatre, Chalk Repertory Theatre, Eric Reyes Loo, Los Angeles Theater Review