‘Terminus Americana’ Deftly Balances Comic Irony and Dread

As shocked minds continue to filter all new cultural experience through the dark glass of Sept. 11, Matt Pelfrey’s “Terminus Americana” emerges as one of those rare works that actually gains clarity in light of recent catastrophes.

The world premiere production of Pelfrey’s play at East L.A. College’s Little Theater is a serendipitous choice to launch Lodestone Theatre Ensemble’s third season. Lodestone, which in the past has concentrated primarily on Asian American plays, branches out from specific ethnic themes in this outing, a production that is so timely, it’s often downright creepy.

Indeed, with its emphasis on insane conspiracy theories and the American apocalypse, Pelfrey’s darkly comic play seems eerily prescient.

For Mac Winchell (Dennis Dun), the rose-colored lenses of reality shatter with blinding force when his co-worker Felix (Roger Fan) goes on a shooting rampage at work. Before Felix kills himself, he whispers a cryptic message to Mac, launching Mac’s odyssey into the “dark heart” of America.

But is Mac really a divinely appointed emissary, sent to scour the world of evil? Or is he a madman who will ignite a global cataclysm?

The timing of contemporary events works in Pelfrey’s favor. Before Sept. 11, “Terminus Americana” may have seemed a toothless harangue about the evils of Western colonialism--or so the play’s obligatory leftist rants lead us to suspect.

But whatever Pelfrey’s initial intentions, his far-reaching piece receives an optimum staging from director Jeff Liu and his crack cast, including Alexandra Bokyun Chun, Elaine Kao, Yuriana Kim, Tuan Tran and the formidably funny Ryun Yu, all of whom balance precariously--and hilariously--between irony and dread.

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“Terminus Americana,” East L.A. College Little Theatre, 1301 Ave. Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park. Fridays; 8:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 2:30 and 8:30 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m. Ends Nov. 18. $13. (323) 993-7245. Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes.