A Real Humorist at Work in ‘Honey, I’m Home’

Mark Twain was once introduced at a lecture by an attorney, who kept his hands in his pockets, as that rare thing, a humorist who was actually funny. Twain commented that that wasn’t as rare as an attorney with his hands in his own pockets. What is rare in this era of jingly stand-up comedy is the very thing Twain was--a humorist--and that is exactly what Don Victor is.

In “Honey, I’m Home,” his hour-long evening of sketches at Stages Theatre Center, Victor exhibits an originality and thoughtful brightness that not only refreshes the mind hungry for intelligent humor but impresses the viewer with its gentleness and genuine wit.

Victor is a writer of style and an actor of versatility. He is often surreal, while sometimes being deceptively simple. Don’t be deceived. There’s a mind of steel in this velvet actor. His program centers around a lonely man who exists with an imaginary cat named Lucy and an imaginary wife who carries on a conversation with him via his tape deck. Here the simplicity hides a troubling poignancy.

In other scenes there’s Otto, an angry dog who finally turns off his master’s electricity, leaves a box of matches by the door and runs away--because he’s “had enough.” There’s also Victor’s running character Waldo, cracker-barrel storyteller who is now livid about his NEA grant being canceled because he wanted to read Mark Twain to schoolchildren.

The hour is a panoply of images and insights informed by Victor’s charm and knowledge. He knows the potholes along the highways of today’s world and he thinks they’re very funny. Don’t miss him.

At 1540 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood; Saturdays, 9 p.m.; indefinitely. $10; (213) 466-1767.

A Touching ‘Brides’ at Waterfront

The surreal and touching concert piece “The Brides,” at Waterfront Stage, doesn’t look or sound as though it were written by Harry Kondoleon. It’s probably because of the high style and subtle coloring the work is given in the courageous direction of Frederique Michel. It looks like something from the sketchbook of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and comes to life in Michel’s framework.

If the production has one flaw, it’s that detailed characterizations do not always filter through Kondoleon’s narrative dialogue. When they do, there’s a subtle magic that engulfs Charles A. Duncombe Jr.’s classical setting, illuminated with deep mood in Kevin Graves’ lighting design.

From youthful naivete to aged sagacity, Katherine Burke, Eva Montealegre, Raffaela Commitante, Laura McCann, Fiona Guinness and Martitia Palmer are all good as the brides, blending their joys and woes, their disappointment and rage and their overpowering optimism into a tapestry that could reflect all brides or be the splintered parts of one.

“The Brides” is written like a piece of music. Its melody lingers long after the ceremony’s over.

At 250 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica; Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m.; indefinitely. $12.50; (213) 393-6672.

‘Bonjour’ to Family at Off Ramp Theatre

The French Canadian family in Michel Tremblay’s “Bonjour, La, Bonjour” at the Off Ramp Theatre is dysfunctional. If they weren’t, he wouldn’t have anything to write a play about. Serge’s family isn’t in the same league with Hamlet’s or Oedipus’, but they’re the stuff strong plays are made of.

In John Van Burek and Bill Glassco’s revised English translation, Tremblay hasn’t missed a dysfunction. Serge’s father and two aunts live together and hate each other with equal fervor. That fervor is matched by the adoration Serge’s four sisters hold for baby brother--a love that isn’t quite healthy in any of the cases, whether it’s pill-popping Monique, compulsively overweight Denise or unhappily married Lucienne. Youngest sister Nicole has a bigger problem; she’s her brother’s lover.

The result isn’t quite dramatic overkill, due primarily to Tremblay’s honest, sincere treatment and to Judy Goff’s unpretentious and clear-cut direction. The characters weave in and out of Serge’s perception with cinematic flow, and Goff’s handling of the transitions is lucid and energetic.

The company has a good grip on Tremblay’s roller-coaster construction and some good performances keep the detail and ambience fresh, particularly Kendaly Shimer’s slightly hard edge as Lucienne, married to an anglais doctor but having an affair with one of Serge’s friends. Meg Judson and Robyn Rose Merrill neatly capture the pillhead and the overeater.

Melissa Lechner has an affecting innocence as the sister in lust with Serge, and Lyla Graham and Courtenay McWhinney bring unexpected warmth to the disagreeable aunts. Al Bernie’s deaf father could try to sound more Quebec than New York, and Quebec actor Peter Duschenes seems a bit miscast as Serge, from his sisters’ descriptions, and does little more than sit around and listen dully to the good performances around him.

At 1953 Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood; Thursdays through Sundays, 8 p.m.; indefinitely. $12; (818) 846-1576.