Thanks to the proliferation of Bluetooth headsets, it's likely you've experienced the weird, off-putting encounter with passers-by loudly carrying on one end of a wireless phone conversation.
Most of us try to ignore these overheard snippets of others' private calls, but not Jean, the needy lead character in Sarah Ruhl's trippy and frequently hilarious new comedy, "Dead Man's Cell Phone," in its West Coast premiere at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.
By curiously answering the ringing phone of a dapper stranger, who has quietly died at the cafe table beside her, Jean embarks on a strange journey to hell and back again in this weird, wacky and always entertaining play.
Three years ago, SCR audiences got a taste of Ruhl's fantasy-laden style with "The Clean House." "Dead Man's Cell Phone" has the same style of colorful, quirky characters, but its plot takes even more flights of fancy along the way. Sometimes it's hard to follow Ruhl's plot, but it's an enjoyable ride nonetheless.
Set in modern-day Manhattan, the play opens with a ringing phone. Jean -- a mousy, nondescript spinster played with a sweet but determined ruthlessness by Margaret Welsh -- inexplicably answers the phone of the unresponsive Gordon Gottlieb and quickly insinuates her way into his secret life.
A clerk at the Holocaust museum, Jean explains that she loves delving into the private history and memories of others. With Gordon's cell phone, she informs his family of his death (implying she was his co-worker), attends his funeral and fabricates parting gifts, letters and tales of love from Gordon to ease the grief of those he left behind -- his mysterious mistress; his frigid, neglected wife Hermia (hilariously played by Shannon Holt); his bereaved, distant mother, Mrs. Gottlieb (an intentionally melodramatic turn by "Friends" co-star Christina Pickles); and his milquetoasty younger brother Dwight (an endearing Andrew Borba).
Soon, love blooms between Jean and bland stationery salesman Dwight (a love story born symbolically on a bed of blank sheets of paper) but her efforts to sanctify his dead brother ring hollow when Gordon himself (SCR vet Lenny Von Dohlen in a stylish and effortlessly sinister performance) reports from Hell the ugly truth about his vile criminal past.
The play's second act is wild and sometimes unfocused, careening between alternate universes, fact and fantasy and strange time shifts as Jean visits Gordon in Hell, tries to right his wrongs in a globe-hopping "trade mission" and finds happiness with a fiery finale.
Although there are dark edges in this play, director Bart DeLorenzo keeps the action pinging along with zip and humor. Keith E. Mitchell's sterile, cold industrial set design and John Zalewski's electronic sound design emphasize the remote soullessness of cell phone communication.
While the play could serve as a cold criticism about our disconnected technical world, it ends on an upbeat. Jean chooses reality over fantasy and love conquers. Cell phones may be a harbinger of death in this play but for Jean they're also the connector to a hopeful new life.
Also playing through Sunday at South Coast Rep is "An Italian Straw Hat: A Vaudeville," a world premiere musical by John Strand (book) and Dennis McCarthy (score), based on an 1850 French farce by Eugene Labiche.
The show's slim story is that of earnest young bridegroom Fadley, whose wedding-day plans with Helen are thrown horribly askew when his horse chews up the unattended hat of Annabelle, the cheating wife of a jealous merchant.
In one overlong day, Fadley must find a new hat for the disgraced Annabelle; fend off her angry lover, Army Lt. Emile, and her violent husband, Beauperthuis; convince Helen's disapproving father, Noncort, of his worthiness; fool a rich Countess into believing that he's a famous Italian opera singer; and ultimately marry his beloved.
Director Stefan Novinski does his best to invigorate the show with fast-paced farcical nonsense -- plenty of chases, mistaken identities, silly scene changes and the like -- but there's not a lot of there there. McCarthy's score is pleasant but not memorable and there's not enough smart contemporary edge to the dialogue to engage a modern audience.
The cast is led by Daniel Blinkoff, who is expected to return to the stage this weekend after a two-week sick leave (understudy Kevin Odenkirk has filled in well enough in his absence).
The rest of the game cast work hard to keep the energy high. A standout is the fine physical comedian Kasey Mahaffy as both the Lurch-like servant Farnsworth and the paranoid policeman Tardiveau.
"An Italian Straw Hat" is harmless entertainment, and seems to appeal most to older audiences who enjoy the old-fashioned style. But as a new musical it falls far short on substance.
* "Dead Man's Cell Phone"
When: 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays; 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; through Oct. 12
* "An Italian Straw Hat: A Vaudeville"
When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
Tickets: $20-$70
Phone: (714) 708-5555
Web: www.scr.org
