Fans of The Twilight Zone will find much to relish in The Mystery Plays, by Roberto
Aguirre-Sacasa, currently at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills.  Entering the theater, the
audience is greeted by a series of gauzy curtains blowing eerily between a half
dozen or so pillars. When the lights go down, we are in for the first of a number of
shocks and surprises.  A very effective opening by director and set designer Jeff
G. Rack.

The more Twilight Zonesque of the two one-acts is the first. Entitled The
Filmmaker’s Journey, it spins the tale of a young movie director (Adrian Pereira)
traveling by train (he has a fear of flying) who meets a handsome stranger (on a
train—shades of Hitchcock, which the play references). The stranger (Silverio
Avellino) and the filmmaker are clearly attracted to each other and after some
flirtatious banter, the director makes a New Years date with him.  The gay angle
may come as a surprise to Theatre 40s older subscribers, but it’s only the first of
many.  To tell more would be to spoil the numerous twists and turns of Aguirre-
Sacasa’s otherworldly plot.

The second one act, Ghost Children, is much more of a psychological thriller with
far less of the supernatural, but it is equally engrossing.  A lovely 30-year-old
lawyer (Meredith Bishop) is asked to visit her 32-year-old brother (Matt Clifford),
imprisoned since age 17 for the brutal murders of their parents and 11-year-old
sister.  Just how and why this happened, and what part the sister may or may
not have played is slowly revealed as the play progresses. Just as in The
Filmmaker’s Journey, expect the unexpected.

Greatly adding to the air of ghostly mystery is David B. Marling’s eerie sound
design and Ellen Monocroussos’ subtly effective lighting.  There is but one piece
of furniture, a bench, and almost all props are mimed, an effective gimmick
which ups the element of mystery and unreality.

But don’t expect 2 hours of unrelenting eeriness.  Aguirre-Sacasa’s script is
sprinkled with humor, beginning with the deliberately late entrance of one of the
actors, just when things were getting spooky, and continuing with barbs about
Hollywood, agents, movie stars and the gay filmmaker’s “special friends.”

There are a number of standout performances in the ensemble cast, all of whom
play several roles. Darcy Shean is simply wonderful as not only agent Amanda
Urbane (curvy, self-centered, and hilarious), but also the filmmaker’s
sophisticated mother, and the killer’s schoolteacher.  Eric Boles is suitably ghoulish
as the “Man of Mystery,” who introduces both tales, and equally effective as the
detective investigating the triple murder. Above all there is Meredith Bishop, so
memorable in last spring’s Atonement.  In the first act, she assumes multiple roles,
all of them skillfully, but it is as the teen killer’s younger sister in the second act
that she gets a chance to show her stuff.  The lovely Bishop is very effective
indeed at showing Abby’s inner torment hidden at first by her outward
composure. As she slowly unravels, Bishop just keeps getting better in a difficult
and complex role.

Theatre 40 is the only local intimate theater I know of that presents two plays in
rep seven days a week. The Mystery Plays runs through September 2.  The
concurrent production is the superb Modern Orthodox, which continues through
September 9. And the fact that both of these plays can be seen on a Monday,
Tuesday, or Wednesday is great news for theatergoers with a free evening
before the theater weekend begins.

This fine double feature marks an auspicious beginning for Theatre 40’s 2007-2008
season.

Theatre 40 in the Reuben Cordova Theatre, Beverly Hills High School
241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills--through September 2

--Steven Stanley