‘Hello, Bob’ Caught Up in Self-Glorification

A rampage of personal egotism, Robert Patrick’s “Hello, Bob,” now at the Lionstar Theater, reaches unprecedented levels of boorishness under the ambitious but limited direction of Brett Scott and Kate McBride.

Twenty years ago, his play “Kennedy’s Children” became an international success. “Hello, Bob” chronicles the changes in Patrick’s life after his newfound celebrity.

The play is a series of largely unrelated monologues addressed to the offstage Patrick, who, although never seen or heard, unfortunately dominates the action.

The first act, set in 1975 New York, is an untrammeled succession of sycophantic rantings. The characters interrupt their own stories to spew lines like: “I’ll always thank you for the chance to share your sudden celebrity” and “They’ll be so impressed that I know you.” Even Tennessee Williams, whose “intimate” acquaintanceship Patrick flourishes, is reduced to a mouthpiece for Patrick’s compulsive self-glorification.

* “Hello, Bob,” Lionstar Theatre, 12655 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. Thursdays-Fridays, 8 p.m. Ends Aug. 23. $12. (310) 281-7483 or (818) 761-6783. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.