With director Rhonda Kohl choreographing like you’ve never seen a play choreographed before, it’s perhaps no wonder CTG picked Theatre Of NOTE’s For The Love Of (Or, The Roller Derby Play) to open year’s Block Party at the Kirk Douglas despite its overly familiar coming-of-age love story and a two-and-a-half-hour running time that could stand some significant snips.

Meet derby girl Joy Ride (Briana Price), overjoyed that by joining the Brooklyn Scallywags, she can put her failed college-runner dreams behind her and fulfill her need for speed, even if it means spending “a shitload of money” on “skates and dues and gear and shit,” even if it means spending three nights a week away from a live-in girlfriend (Elinor Gunn as Michelle) who’s exchanged her artistic dreams for a 9-to-5.

Almost immediately, the newest Scallywag finds herself falling under the spell of ballsy, take-no-prisoners superstar Lizzle LIghtning (Tania Verafield), whose ex Andrea the Vagiant (Alina Phelan) just happens to coach the team. (Can you say awkward lesbian love quadrangle?)

When unexpected unemployment has Michelle putting her career over her girlfriend’s derby dreams she deems childish and impractical in a woman nearing thirty, it’s anyone’s guess whether the couple’s decade-long relationship will survive.

Playwright Gina Femia surrounds Joy Ride and and LIzzie LIghtning with an eclectic assortment of teammates—50ish mom Hot Flash (Lynn Odell), 40ish nurse Anna-Stecia (Yolanda Snowball), and a trio of 20somethings: fiery but grieving Latina Diaz de los Muertos (Crystal Diaz), studious law schooler Prosecute-Her (Jenny Soo), and improbable college student Squeaky Mouse (Liesel Hanson), each of whom gets an acting-showcase monolog that provides insight into her life off the rink but also helps make For The Love Of surpass the two-hour mark by a good thirty minutes.

Raucous referees-and-others Jammy From The Block (Cindy Lin), Frida Call-It-Low (Nadia Marina), Maid Of Metal (Nancy Stone), Ruth Bader Getsit (Nicole Gabriella Scipione), and Trauma Queen (Faith Imafidon) provide entertaining but rather too much running commentary and ad libbed audience interaction not in Femia’s published script.

Cast addition Price is terrific as a young woman torn between loyalty and passion and so is Gunn as the more sensible of the two, and L.A. theater favorite Verafield is quite simply a revelation as the foul-mouthed, hard-as-nails temptation that is Lizzie Lightning.

Theatre Of NOTE superstar Phelan stands out among supporting players as the tough-but-tender Andrea, with Diaz, Hanson, Odell, Snowball, and Soo acing their featured roles, and Imafidon, Lin, Marina, Scipione, and Stone keeping the energy level high.

Familiar as its romantic rectangle may seem, For The Love Of’s racial diversity proves refreshing, and there is nothing at all ordinary about the thrilling, high-energy “skateography” that explodes on the Kirk Douglas stage, both between scenes and in exhilarating, show-stopping competitive match sequences underscored by Gilly Moon’s dance-club-ready action-movie soundtrack. (Did I mention that director-choreographer Kohl and her cast achieve all of the above without a roller skate in sight?)

Scenic designer Eli Smith (an excitingly ingenious modular set) and lighting designer Rose Malone (illuminating the Douglas with abundant flash) have expanded For The Love Of from its original matchbook-stage dimensions, and Vicki Conrad’s roller-derby costumes are imaginative treats each and every one.

Lauren Smerkanich is assistant director and Angeline Mirenda is assistant choreographer. Brooke Baldwin is production stage manager and Maggie Swing is stage manager.

For The Love Of (Or, The Roller Derby Play) was originally produced for Theatre Of NOTE by David Bickford, Kelly “Lucretia Hott” Lingen, and Soo. Lindsay Allbaugh is Center Theatre Group associate producer.

If the play’s the thing, then For The Love Of (Or, The Roller Derby Play) is a mixed bag in need of a trim. If, on the other hand, performances and choreography are the thing, it’s hardly surprising that this year’s Block Party starter ends with a standing ovation and cheers.

Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City.
www.centertheatregroup.org

–Steven Stanley
March 9, 2019
Photos: Craig Schwartz Photography

Tags: Center Theatre Group, Gina Femia, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Review