‘The Letter’: Crisis Hits Model Family

A 1950s period portrait of a family in crisis, “The Letter,” at the Hudson, is a florid combination of modernism and melodrama that succeeds despite its shortcomings.

At first glance, the family in Rodney Nugent’s play appears to be the African American version of “The Donna Reed Show.” Dad (Steven Williams), a successful supervisor in charge of dozens of men, tells his three sons rousing stories of their illustrious ancestor, a cowboy in the Old West. Pretty, perfect mom (Cyndi James Gossett), a full-time housewife, wears a starched house dress and heels at all times. Never mind that this rugged, romping Dad is also a domineering disciplinarian whose heavy-handed, humiliating tactics alienate his adolescent sons Raymond (Wolfgang Bodison) and James (Craig Thomas). Never mind that Model Mom feels obliged to defer to Model Husband, even when convinced of his folly.

With the sudden death of Stevie (Jamil Luis Smith), the adored youngest son, the family descends into despair, alcoholism, drug addiction, crime and suicide. Protagonist-narrator Raymond relates the sad tale of his family’s decline and fall in a letter to his childhood sweetheart Janis (Vanessa Williams--of “Melrose Place”) on the eve of his execution for murder.

Nugent was a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey company. Director Charles Randolph-Wright also trained at the Ailey School, where he met Nugent. Not surprisingly, the two demonstrate a dancer-like command of rhythm, in both text and staging. Nugent’s characters are compelling and his dialogue is fluid, although his obvious plot choices sometimes staunch the flow of this epistolary drama. Randolph-Wright also makes some obvious choices, allowing his otherwise superb cast to occasionally blunder into caricature. Even so, beautiful composition, brisk pacing and endearing performances ensure that “The Letter” remains a special delivery.

* “The Letter,” Hudson Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Sept. 25. $15. (213) 660-8587. Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes. (An alternate cast will play on various evenings.)

‘Agency’ Characters Entertain at Coast

“Agency,” Jeff Trachta’s comedic one-man show at the Coast Playhouse, is another directorial credit for Charles Randolph-Wright (“The Letter”).

Trachta is a regular on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” but don’t mistake him for just another pretty boy soap star. An impressionist and singer as well as an actor, Trachta displays a vocal versatility to rival the late Mel Blanc’s.

Set in a Hollywood Agency from 1984 to the present, Trachta’s tale is a predictable retread of the old “boy goes Hollywood and loses soul” story. The play would be more effective if played strictly as a cartoon, and Trachta sacrifices some of his comic momentum by taking his little fable far too seriously.

Although Trachta may sometimes lose sight of the fact, the thin plot is merely a clothesline on which he hangs out a formidable succession of characters, the most entertaining of which is the hilarious Lydia, a talent agency receptionist with a heart of gold and a voice of gravel.

Everybody’s mother hen but nobody’s fool, Lydia proceeds to upstage and outshine the other characters in the show--even though they are all played by the same person. Hail Lydia. She should live long and go to series.