‘All Souls’ Day’: Tough, New Degree in Humanities

Fifteen years after graduation, a group of Tufts grads gather to celebrate Halloween and, more important, the ties that bind. Sound familiar? Only at first glance.

In Nick Salamone’s “All Souls’ Day” at the Heliotrope Theatre, the difference is in how tight the tangled knots are in this group’s relationships and lives--and how close to strangling some of the characters.

They were all members of Tufts’ Lesbian and Gay Community, a mid-’70s campus organization, but this is not per se a gay play. It’s a play about being able to accept the slings and arrows of life.

The death of one friend still casts a shadow on the others, particularly Sunny (playwright Salamone), who isn’t able to handle anything in life and has multiple scars on his wrists to prove it, and Jan (Addy Allison), who insists she has had visits from the friend’s specter.

It’s obviously going to be a bumpy evening.

Although director Josh Perl doesn’t highlight these or other relationships as closely as he might, his naturalistic treatment does give individual characterizations enough air to flourish. Particularly detailed and richly colored are those of Sunny and Jan, and actor Val (Jonathan Mittleman) and priest Gene (Steve Tschudy), whose relationship could use further exploration by the playwright.

Salamone also should think about raising the stakes earlier. Although interesting and frequently funny, this party is like any other until late in the first act, when emotional fires begin to bubble under the surface.

“All Souls’ Day,” Heliotrope Theatre, 660 N. Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles , Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Jan. 5. $12-$15; (213) 660-TKTS. Running time: 2 hours.

Teen-Age Salvation Found in ‘Charisma’

John Darago’s “Charisma,” at the Basement Theatre in Pasadena, is another example of a screenplay masquerading as a play, with many settings framing brief scenes and a large cast. It almost defeats a drama that deserves a more focused theatrical treatment.

Teen-age Joe, in a sensitive performance by Tom Sheppard, sees a vision of Jesus at a graduation picnic and joins Holiness Way, a Virginia snake-handling sect. His parents are willing to take any measure to get him back, including kidnaping by a deprogrammer (Max Segar) and shock treatments in a mental hospital. They almost destroy the gentle boy they claim to love.

Joe’s mother (Kathryn Bikle) is an unrepentant shrew who doesn’t care what happens to him as long as he’s torn from Holiness Way. His father (Frank Vrlich) is a bumbler who doesn’t know which way to turn, but finally turns in favor of Joe’s salvation, and possibly his soul’s. The father’s self-searching odyssey and his wise decision are the script’s core, along with its statements about an individual’s rights.

Jim Nasella’s direction helps unify the script, as does a charming Appalachian musical soundtrack by Patricia Marina and Frank Novak. The story at the center of “Charisma” and the leading performances rise above the sketchy script and technical aspects.

“Charisma,” Basement Theatre, 464 E. Walnut, Pasadena. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Through Dec. 14; reopens Jan. 10. $10; (818) 397-1651. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

‘Hollywood Sings!’: Songs of Yesteryear

Nostalgia is the idea behind “Hollywood Sings!” at the Rose Cabaret in West Hollywood, featuring the tunes that sent moviegoers thronging to theaters during the Depression and World War II. It’s nice to hear them. Again.

Conceived and directed by Gene Casey, this “cabaret concert” is entertaining, sometimes clicheed (“You Oughta Be in Pictures” sung to a mirror), sometimes inventive (“You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” sung to a man, who answers “If I Only Had a Brain”).

Casey accompanies at the piano with a true feel for the songs of the ‘30s and ‘40s. All six performers are fine, but William Akey, Lynne Pirtle and Charles Mandracchia stand out for getting inside the period and bringing it alive.

Tenor Akey has a delightful ability with vocal gymnastics, often comic but dead serious and wonderful on Porter’s “Night and Day.” Pirtle has the best voice of the women, sometimes with an edge that’s right on for this material, and an ability to slide onto a note like Helen O’Connell. Mandracchia’s rich baritone shines in romantic numbers like “Moonlight Becomes You.”

“Hollywood Sings!,” Rose Cabaret, 665 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Ends Dec. 18. $12 plus 2 drink minimum; (310) 854-4455. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

‘Picnic’ Revival Needs Sharper Focus

Some of the performances spark the revival of William Inge’s “Picnic,” at American Renegade Theatre in North Hollywood, but it isn’t always spark enough.

Under David Cox’s direction, the production gets off to a slow start. It isn’t until the male-bonding scene between indigent hunk Hal and his former fraternity brother Alan, on their first meeting since college, that energy develops. The scene sets a level that continues for much of the rest of the evening.

Some interesting twists in characterization help. Hal (a volatile Scott Geyer) is less noble than sometimes played. It works to the play’s advantage. Flo (Beverly Auxier), mother of the girl Hal entices, is not so much a nice small-town mom here. She’s a little sly, a bit cold and quite conniving.

The best performances are by Elizabeth Meads as Rosemary, the teacher desperate to escape spinsterhood before it’s too late, and by Bill Gratton as the man she’s set her cap for. Meads allows Rosemary’s sexuality to rise very close to the surface, and Gratton has a simple warmth. These qualities add definition to their relationship.

Juli Kanan and Erin Rae are just right as Hal’s dream girl and her precocious kid sister. Some of the other players need a sharper focus, as does the whole production.

“Picnic,” American Renegade Theatre, 11305 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Runs indefinitely. $10-$12; (818) 763-4430. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

‘Nun’: A One-Joke Show by Force of Habit

Bruce W. Gilray and Richard T. Witter’s “. . . And Then There Was Nun” is a cult event. It’s been playing for almost a year at various venues, and is currently getting its continuous laughs at West Hollywood’s St. Genesius Theatre.

That’s OK for its appreciative audience, but it doesn’t keep it from being a one-joke operation, like other cult favorites, “Rocky Horror Show” and “Nunsense.” They’re cut from the same cloth.

Using Agatha Christie’s classic as a springboard, the authors have 10 nuns summoned to “Grauman’s Chinese Island” to be slaughtered one by one. The nuns include Sister Vivien (Leigh), Sister Joan (Crawford), Sister Bette (guess who), etc. The humor is built around the stars’ most popular camp roles and images, and made up of sometimes verbatim and sometimes skewered lines from their films.

Gilray’s direction is frenetic, the cast enthusiastic. It’s really funny for the first five minutes, after which it sacrifices clever in favor of outrageous camp, and feels like a tape loop going round and round.

“. . . And Then There Was Nun,” St. Genesius Theatre, 1049 Havenhurst, West Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m. Ends Dec. 15. $12-$15; (213) 938-5308, (213) 660-8587. Running time: 2 hours.