A Top-Notch Cast Carries Strindberg’s ‘The Father’

An all-black cast may not seem like the most obvious choice for a revival of Swedish playwright August Strindberg’s 1887 drama, “The Father,” but David Patch’s powerful staging at the McCadden Place Theatre quickly allays any incongruities the old-fashioned way--with fine performances from classically trained actors.

Patch, the artistic director of the August Strindberg Society of Los Angeles, brings impressive authority to this harrowing depiction of lethal psychological combat between the sexes. In the title role, Felton Perry instantly rivets attention with his smugly paternalistic Army Captain, whose perch at the head of his household proves all-too precarious.

The Captain’s chief adversary is his wife, Laura (Peggy Ann Blow), who uses every trick--including sexuality--to undermine his authority in both the family and the world. Blow’s chilling portrayal embraces the full measure of selfish manipulation. Spreading rumors that he is insane, she tries to convince a new garrison doctor (played with nuanced ambivalence by Dig Wayne) to have him certified. Turning her brother (Henry G. Sanders), a priest, against him sets up his fall from grace. But her most evil ploy is leading him to question his paternity of their daughter Bertha (Karen ffolkes), an innocent pawn caught in her parents’ battlefield. Mark Conley plays the clueless soldier and aide, Nojd, and Masequa Myers is a dignified presence as the Captain’s former nurse, recalled to active duty when his breakdown reduces him to childlike helplessness.

Given the play’s psychological rather than realistic emphasis, the recent controversy raised by playwright August Wilson’s objections to color-blind casting seems particularly beside the point. Here, professional training and skill soundly trump the race card.

* “The Father,” McCadden Place Theatre, 1157 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood. Thursdays through Sundays, 8 p.m.; Ends July 16. $15. (323) 469-3786. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

‘Wild Life’s’ Formula Lacks Originality

“Wild Life,” a new drama from the Echo Theater Company at the Powerhouse Theatre, begins amid appropriately raucous ambience. Eerie lighting effects and blaring snatches of radio broadcasts welcome us to playwright Bernardo Solano’s vision of our fractured, meaningless, contemporary world.

The uniqueness of the striking intro proves short-lived, however, as we settle into a sprawling tale of intersecting lives in the aftermath of a grisly murder.

The characters include a cynical girl junkie (Daisy McCrackin) with a hidden caring heart; her boyfriend, a conflict-ridden black cop (Jeff Williams) obsessed with the dismembered little girl he found in a suitcase; the orderly accountant (Cliff Weissman) wound dangerously tight; a beer-guzzling, drawling lowlife (Tim Fox) and his deferential, abused wife (Nancy Bell); a racist youth (Jf Pryor); and a perky TV weathercaster (Monique Edwards).

Familiar stereotypes, all--which creates a heightened imperative for some novel plotting. Unfortunately, the play doesn’t deliver it. Some very committed performances notwithstanding, each character ends up behaving exactly as one would expect from countless prior formulaic treatments.

The recurring use of radio station hopping in Chris Fields’ tight, trendy staging is an all-too-apt metaphor for the quick-cutting, crisscrossing narrative technique reminiscent of a Robert Altman film. It’s no substitute for depth or originality in the theatrical equivalent of channel surfing.

* “Wild Life,” Powerhouse Theatre, 3116 2nd St., Venice. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 and 7 p.m. Ends July 16. $15. (310) 396-3680. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.