Facing East

International City Theatre
Long Beach Performing Arts Center
300 E. Ocean Blvd.
Thursday-Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m.
Through July 5.
Tickets: $32-42
internationalcitytheatre.org

Three cheers for pristine intentions. If compassion and moral integrity were enough to ensure an outstanding theatrical experience, Carol Lynn Pearson's somber drama would be a prize-winner. The story and theme are provocative, the production design is hauntingly lovely, and for the most part the cast is capable. Unfortunately, lyricism mixed with suffering can be a fragile blend. Without the proper balance and minus a degree of restraint, the scale can tip toward bathos, and worse yet, a droning sense of repetition.

The setup is promising—at a Salt Lake City gravesite, prior to the funeral of their excommunicated gay son who has committed suicide, a Mormon couple airs grief and regrets, and attempts to figure out what went wrong and why. Their dead son's lover (Daniel Kash) enters later, serving as a catalyst to a lump-in-the-throat resolution.

Ironically, the husband, Alex (Christian Lebano) is a radio show host who gives advice on supportive and nurturing parenthood, shown in flashbacks. Yet both parents obviously fell calamitously short in allowing their child to flourish as an independent human being, eking out his personal happiness in the world. The guilt and control mechanisms fostered by their faith have done quite a number on the couple.

Though Alex is obviously far more open to questioning the religion's mandates, he's still quite confused. His wife Ruth (Terry Davis) is a by-the-book fanatic who expresses her belief that since Alex once indulged in marital infidelity, that evil act did something to the genes that went into their son, leading to his curse of homosexuality.

Davis falls into a trap with this character's one-note hysteria, leading to many line readings of nearly identical cadence, making her frequent laments tiresome. Lebano fortunately has more to work with in terms of variety in his role. Kash gives the strongest performance as the devoted and loving partner of the deceased youth. Shashin Desai's direction is solid, yet he faces an uphill struggle against the script's tendency to get preachy and patches of arch poetic language that don't ring true as credible dialogue. The end result is a production with scattered fine moments but an overall sense of self-indulgence. —Les Spindle

He Asked For It

Macha Theatre
1107 N. Kings Rd., West Hollywood.
Thursday-Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 7 p.m. Through July 19.
Tickets: $25.
brownpapertickets.com

Last year, prolific playwright Erik Patterson found himself with a breakout hit when his debuting play reached beyond the core followers of Hollywood's iconoclastic Theatre of Note company, playing to sellout crowds, critical acclaim, and attention from major awards organizations. This trailblazing gay-themed drama struck a resonant chord for diverse audiences, who were entranced by its gripping and heart-wrenching mix of ironic humor and tragedy. A year following its premiere run, the play is back with the same director, one returning lead actor, and a revised script. Though I still have quibbles about its dramatic structure, Patterson's play offers a remarkably insightful view of urban gay life in the 21st century. It's not so much an AIDS play as a work with universal themes about loneliness in the big city and the fragility of the human heart.

We're thankful that at the center of director Neil H. Weiss' fresh look at the play is actor Joe Egender, revisiting his Garland Award-winning performance as Ted, a naïve yet big-hearted Midwestern youth who flees a homophobic home life in seeking career satisfaction and love. Finding WeHo to be an incredibly isolating environment, made more so by the HIV-positive status of the gay men he meets, Ted takes desperate measures that are shocking, yet empathetic, considering his disappointing family relationships and his need to connect emotionally. Alongside Ted's story is that of Rigby (Andrew Keegan), an HIV-positive man who at first seems happy-go-lucky. But he indulges in behavior that could be considered morally unconscionable, ultimately paying a steep price for it.

The script has been tweaked by Patterson, though if memory serves, most changes feel minor. During its premiere run, I expressed reservations about the unconventional way the piece defies audience expectations during its final 30 minutes or so. It's not that plays must adhere to rigid sets of structural rules to be effective; on the contrary. Yet in its current form, the play tells two stories that aren't sufficiently dovetailed to fully integrate the playwright's thematic points.

Nonetheless, Patterson's script remains an extraordinary accomplishment. Egender's terrifically nuanced portrayal feels even richer this time, and he's backed up by fine work from Keegan, Sarah Foret, Jeremy Glazer, Kyle Jordan, Carter MacIntyre and Brian Unger. A wonderfully fluid set and lighting design by Jeff McLaughlin, sound design by Cricket Myers and original music by John Ballinger enhance the crackling atmosphere. Now playing in the heart of West Hollywood, this thought-provoking and deeply moving production is likely to find an audience ideally suited to appreciating its myriad virtues. —L.S.