Don’t be surprised if Robert J. Litz’s world premiere One Fell Swoop turns up a
movie at your local multiplex. It’s got hot button themes (sex, lies, and
politics), a crackerjack plot (right wing pundits and politicians try to derail a
liberal judge’s nomination to be chief justice of the Supreme Court), and
more than a dozen plum roles for actors.

In the excellent production now running at the Elephant Theatre, Gregory
Mortensen is Judge Richard Barron, whose nomination enrages conservative
Senator Gage (Robert John Brewer), his smarmy assistant Clayton Fosse (Max
Williams), and Ann Coulteresque TV bimbo Ann Carver (Alexandra Hoover). 
On the opposite side of the fence are Caitlin Reese (Megan Dolan), a former
student (and mistress) of Judge Barron, Barron’s to-the-rescue aide Mac
McCallister (Charles Pacello), and liberal Massachusetts Senator Jeff Tilden
(Timothy Starks).  As rumors of Barron and Reese’s affair begin to surface, so
too do rumors that Barron may have behaved unethically and illegally in one
having gotten drug charges against his nephew Billy (Chris Riddell) dropped.

One Fell Swoop is at its best when skewering conservative 24/7 news
channels.  Litz’s script is witty, perceptive, and full of funny zingers (Carver is
known to pinch her nipples before going on the air, and refers to herself as a
“scholar”).  It also provides a fascinating look at the backstage
machinations of DC politicians, as each side scrambles to get dirt on the
other.

Director Christopher Game keeps the pace swift, and unlike many movie-
ready scripts requiring frequent scene changes, Joel Daavid’s set design’s
incorporation of a grand total of 7 TV monitors allows the set to morph
instantly from the Lincoln Memorial to a church to a subway station to a TV
set, preventing lengthy set changes. (Many of the TV news scenes are
projected live as the characters speak before the camera.)

There are many fine performances among the Elephant Theatre Company’s
ensemble, most notably a dynamic Pacello (proving bald is hot), a hilarious
Hoover (love that tight black skirt), and Julie Weidmann as lipstick lesbian
conservative TV host Rachel Hollings.  Weidmann’s futile attempts to
inebriate and bed Reese make for one of the show’s funniest scenes.  Brewer,
Mortensen, and Williams are likewise excellent in their supporting roles, as is
Darryl Armbruster as yet another slick TV news-host.   There are memorable
cameos by Amy French as a scruples-challenged newspaper reporter, Dan
Gilvary as a judge battling Alzheimer’s, Pamela Rylance as Barron’s
pragmatic wife, and Matt Suriale as a nearsighted doctor.

If a new-as-tomorrow’s-headlines political satire, as smart as it is funny,
sounds like your cup of tea (and you don’t want to wait for the Hollywood
movie to come out), head on over to the Elephant Theatre for One Fell
Swoop.

ELEPHANT THEATRE COMPANY, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd. | Through
August 18 | (323) 960-4410

--Steven Stanley