Just when I think the 2006-2007 can’t get any better, I see a show like The Idiot
Box (at the Open Fist Theatre) and once again I thank my lucky stars to be living
in Los Angeles, where the theatrical riches just keep coming and coming. As I
finish my final month as an Ovation voter and face the new season as Editor of
LAStageScene.com, I feel among the truly fortunate.

The Idiot Box is LA theater at its best. Its amazing ensemble cast proves that no
city can hold a candle to LA for excellence in acting. There’s not a weak link
among the ten stellar performers, and though not all of the roles are as rich and
demanding as others, each actor is at the top of his/her craft.

Then there’s the play itself, an ingenious and rewarding tour de force by Michael
Elyanow. Elyanow wondered what it would be like if the real world, the world of
9/11 and Iraq and AIDS were to enter the sunshiny world of the sitcom, and The
Idiot Box is the result, though there’s nothing idiotic about the writing.

6 characters live in perfect harmony in a New York penthouse.  Their lives are
laugh track accompanied, and canned audience “ooohs” and “aaahs” are
heard at sentimental moments.  They are cute, ditzy, dumb, wisecracking, and a
bit dull.

Then, one of them goes to the theater to see The Three Sisters, meets a man
from the real world, and nothing is the same again.  There’s a flash of light, no
more canned laughter, and problems are no longer resolved in 22 minutes.
Characters develop, change, grow.  All but one are glad for the change, at
least for a while. But there remains one steadfast holdout, who wants to return
to the way things were, for reasons we discover in the powerful denouement.

Standouts in a standout cast are the divine Anna Khaja, who as Chloe
undergoes the most profound change, from carefree sitcom girl next door to
world aware adult. The role allows her to start out sweet and shallow and end
up giving some of the most powerful and gut-wrenching acting of the year.  In
the same way, Kelly Van Kirk’s role as Mark, the jokester who doesn’t want to
give up the jokes, goes from kind to dastardly to heartbreaking, masterful work.

Tisha Terrasini-Banker, Amanda Weier, and David Castellani (three of the other
penthouse-mates) each has his/her own superlative moments. And Dominic
Spillane as the not-too-sharp womanizing male model who discovers love of a
most unexpected kind is a real find, a most promising young actor (and not hard
on the eyes either.)

Excellent support is given by “the visitors” Corena Chase (love the Aussie
accent), Conor Lane (glamorous in drag but a bit of a heel (the character he
plays) in menswear), and Rod Sweitzer (finding power in one of the smaller roles).
Finally there is dynamic Joe Holt, outstanding in the role of Omar, the outsider
who instigates the change the these people’s lives.  Welcome to LA Mr. Holt.
New York’s loss is LA’s gain.

The design team is impeccable, from Donna Marquet’s sitcom-worthy set to Alex
Jaeger’s character appropriate costumes to Lindsay Jones sitcom sound design
to J. Kent Inasy’s lighting design (does this guy ever do anything less than
excellent work?).

All of this was directed by Jeremy B. Cohen, and if a director’s work can be seen
in the performances his cast gives and the power his production has over an
audience, then this is one outstanding director.

LAStageScene.com looks forward to what’s next for Open Fist Theatre Company
and heartily recommends their latest triumph—The Idiot Box. 

NEW OPEN FIST THEATRE, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood.; Fri.-Sat, 8 p.m.;
Sun., 7 p.m., thru Aug. 25. (323) 882-6912

--Steven Stanley