‘Doubles’ Simply Delights at Tamarind Theatre

“I don’t believe in Freud,” says one of the characters in David Wiltse’s “Doubles,” at the Tamarind Theatre in Hollywood. “Whadda ya mean, ya don’t believe in Freud?,” says his friend, “We got pictures of the guy.”

That’s the sort of humor Wiltse layers over his light treatment of male loneliness and male bonding within the framework of a weekly tennis game that’s little more than a moment of therapy for a quartet of forlorn guys. The humor takes some of the weight away from the serious mess these four have made of their lives, but it results in a delightful evening that never pretends to be more than sitcom and doesn’t worry too much about hard-core analysis or solid solutions.

Don Most directs the piece on its own terms, keeping its rhythms robust, making sure the one-liners get the laughs they deserve. The laughs are the final score in Wiltse’s game.

The actors couldn’t be more in tune with the script and sometimes even manage to give it a little portent as they go along. David Groh is Lennie, who manages a grocery store for his father-in-law and thinks he’s a failure, and not only with his wife; Groh’s sense of humor fills in the chinks in the character’s makeup.

Jack Aaron gives his role as attorney Arnie a slight eccentricity that belies, and at the same time embellishes the satyr described in the script, and Bruce Solomon, as a Wall Street dealer who has dealt from the bottom of the deck once too often, has a charm that engenders empathy, even for his hypochondriacal traumas.

The most interesting performance is that of Jefferson Perry as George, the only Gentile in the group, and the one with the deepest problem of all. Perry’s George is a running contradiction and winds up with the richest reality. The club manager struts by every once in a while, a swaggering caricature in the performance of Daniel Douglas Anderson, and Diana Georger is properly frenetic as his aide, Heather.

Frank Lloyd’s locker-room setting is also richly realistic, unlike four unnecessary monologues--which are, for some strange reason, delivered to Heather.

“Doubles,” Tamarind Theatre, 5919 Franklin Ave., Hollywood; Thursdays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends April 21. $18; (213) 466-1767. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

‘Professor’ Thinks; ‘Fragments’ Suffers

Every teacher should be like Professor George. He wants his students to think, for God’s sake, and he takes great pains to see that they do, in Marsha Sheiness’ “Professor George,” first in this evening of one-acts at the Open Fist Theatre in Hollywood.

Sheiness never actually explains what the Professor’s subject is, but it doesn’t matter. It’s obvious his subject is digging the insular zombies of society--that’s a sizable percentage--out of their complacency in order to examine, not only themselves, but their world. And his students this time around are about as complacent and insular as--well, all of us.

Marc Sandler is excellent as Professor George, fiery and dedicated, seeing all with humor, and as excited as he can be at a millimeter of progress in one of his students. Sandler is totally in control of the swings of mood and attitude that director Royston D. Thomas has established in his knowledgeable staging.

Frederick Kane, Sherri Stone Butler, Alessandra Assaf and Colin Cunningham are all fine as the students, with George La Porte standing out as burgeoning thespian Grazzio, playing a Method actor with utmost control.

The second piece is actor/author George Dickerson’s solo “Fragments From a Broken Window,” artfully directed by Karl Reichman. It concerns a poet who has lost his passion but is tragically passionate about that loss. It is a fine piece of writing, well performed but without the theatricality that might make it memorable.

“Professor George” & “Fragments From a Broken Window,” Open Fist Theatre, 1625 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood; Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 5 p.m. Indefinitely. $14; (213) 882-6912. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

‘Happy Days’ Unfold at the Cafe Beckett

This is the Samuel Beckett play about poor Winnie, buried in sand, going on about her existence with a heart ever convinced that hers are all “Happy Days.”

Under Brian Mallon’s intelligent direction, at the Celtic Arts Center’s new Cafe Beckett in Hollywood, actress Robin Howard unhurriedly lets her Winnie unfold within the subtle rhythms and intricate imagery of the text.

This Winnie has a familiar aura, as though she is someone we’ve known before, and Howard invests her with fascinating facial choreography to strengthen the sense of deja vu . She has a totally organized mind, capable of concentrating completely on her discovery of a living emmet, and yet slowly traveling toward the center of her despair in ever smaller circles. It’s a rewarding journey into Beckett’s fascinating mind. Mallon cringes well as Willie.

“Happy Days,” Cafe Beckett, 5649 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Ends March 28. $10; (213) 462-6844. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.

A Spotty ‘Macbeth’ at Believers’ Rep

Director Andrew Davis and lighting designer Mike Pearce have come up with an intriguing concept for this production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at Believers’ Repertory Company in West Hollywood. Set in a small chapel, with pews set at angles around a central playing area, lit from above, behind and from right and left (sometimes with flashlights), nine actors play all the parts, dressed in generic futuristic black. They crawl under the pews, appear in the choir loft and the nave, and seem like more than their number as their voices echo from the shadows.

Unfortunately only a few of them are able to handle the poetry of Shakespeare’s historical drama. The Macbeths (Kenneth Ryan, Kathryn Spitz) sound like an American junior executive, involved in a corporate takeover, and his socially ambitious wife. Larry G. Welch as Macduff, Robert D’Avanzo as Malcolm, and Helene McCardle as Lady Macduff speak the lines beautifully under Davis’ non-declamatory direction. But Richard Karn, as Banquo and the Porter, stands out in his affection for the language and the believability of his playing.

“Macbeth,” Believers’ Repertory Company, 9025 Cynthia, West Hollywood; Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Indefinitely. $10; (213) 463-6480. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

‘Night Must Fall’ Much Too Bright

Under flat, bright lighting designed by Dave Bergeson, Emlyn Williams’ classic thriller “Night Must Fall” unfolds just as flatly, played much too brightly, at Actors Alley in North Hollywood.

An actor himself, Williams wrote juicy roles for actors, but no one in this cast gets much past the rind of their characters. Tony Rizzoli’s direction assumes that the English are funny and should be played that way. Rizzoli also telegraphs the murderer’s identity about an hour early. Hence, no suspense.

In a cast that leans heavily toward caricature, only Leslie Simms as the cook, Dale Kleine as the inspector and Diane Warren as the visiting nurse have any reality. As the targeted victim Mrs. Bramson, Vannee Porter simpers and pouts without much of her reputed authority. And Gene Smith, who bears a striking resemblance to a young, slender Benny Hill, plays Danny as though he’s in a Benny Hill sketch.

Call it “Night Must Pratfall.”

“Night Must Fall,” Actors Alley Theatre, 12135 Riverside Drive, North Hollywood; Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; March 31 & April 14, 2 p.m. Ends April 28. $15; (818) 508-4200. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.