It isn’t just aspiring kidnappers who owe it to themselves to check out Nate Rufus Edelman’s Desert Rats for a primer on what not to do when abducting a high school cheerleader but anyone seeking L.A. theater at its entertainingly edgy best.

 While it’s not immediately clear what’s brought 20something brothers Frank (Walt Gray IV) and Jesse (Derek Chariton) back to the ratty, swelteringly hot Barstow motel room where they one vacationed with their good-for-nothing old man, what is obvious is that alpha male Frank is an old hand at belittling high school dropout Jesse (the word “retard” gets slung about more than once), and that whatever scheme the two siblings have in mind is one Frank has concocted, then enlisted Jesse as his put-up-or-shut-up sidekick.

Still, it doesn’t take all that long for talk to turn to Frank’s impending drive back to L.A. and his plan to return with “the little bitch” in tow, though given today’s heat, Jesse’s suggestion that he stow her in the trunk might not be the smartest idea.

 If it’s not already obvious, what Frank and Jesse have in mind is the kind of get-rich-quick scheme that’s probably been around since the ancient Egyptians, and given the privileged life 18-year-old Amber (Lila Gavares) has led up till now, convincing Daddy to fork up or a heaping helping of his wealth for her safe return to Calabasas ought to be child’s play.

 Still, as they say, the best-laid plans of mice and men (and two not terribly bright brothers) do tend to go astray, and much of the fun in discovering Edelman’s dark dramatic comedy is in watching just how awry things can spiral once Frank has headed off to phone Amber’s businessman dad for ransom, leaving Jesse to screw things up as only he can.

Director Angie Scott keeps electric sparks flying throughout, aided by three absolutely terrific performers, all four of them graduates of the UCLA School Of Theater, Film, and Television.

 Gavares gives Amber a dangerously sexy edge that belies the Valley Girl cheerleader stereotype while Gray makes for an explosive Frank, and never more so than when Jesse gives him more than enough reason to explode.

 Most memorable of all is Chariton’s bearded, well-intentioned waif of a Jesse, more naïve man-child than the dimwit his father and brother have dubbed him since childhood, a you-can’t-take-your-eyes-off-it performance that portends big things ahead for the UCLA grad.

The Los Angeles Theatre Center’s Avalos Theatre basement stage proves the ideal venue for scenic designers Cameron Mock and Emily McDonald to create a grungy wreck of a motel room backed by a bleak Mojave Desert panorama, around which the audience observes from three of its four invisible walls as Mock and McDonald’s lighting design takes us skillfully from afternoon to midnight.

Sound designer Ivan Robles ups the suspense throughout, while providing some realistic car arrival-and-departure effects, costume designer Jakelinne Gonzalez scores points for three spot-on outfits, and Libby Letlow has choreographed both fights and intimacy with finesse.

 Desert Rats is presented by Latino Theater Company. Michelle Tapia is assistant director. Christopher Campbell-Orrock is dramaturg. Robert Anaya is production assistant. Maricela Sahagun is production stage manager.

I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether Desert Rats’ final fade to black is a frustrating cop-out or a tantalizingly ambiguous way to end the show.

Whichever you opt for (and I’m leaning towards the latter), Desert Rats U.S. Premiere makes for one thrillingly edge-of-your-seat ride.

Latino Theater Company, Los Angeles Theatre Center, Avalos Theatre, 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles.
www.thelatc.org

–Steven Stanley
January 6, 2019
Photos: Giovanni Solis of bracero

Tags: Los Angeles Theater Review, Los Angeles Theatre Center, Nate Rufus Edelman, The Latino Theater Company