LOS ANGELES TIMES
November 14, 2003
THEATER BEAT
Guy Zimmerman's "The Inside Job" at least has the
courage of its own presumptions. It wastes no energy arguing the points it
takes as foundational truths: Soulless corporate crooks are our true rulers,
the Enron scandals presage a lawless republic ruled by brute force, and Texas
is evil's hell mouth.
Zimmerman simply imagines--in the bleached, arid, often haunting
manner we've come to recognize as the Padua Playwrights style--a cool,
matter-of-fact apocalypse, reflected by three of its unwitting but
all-too-willing handmaidens.
Actually, one of the three knows more about what's afoot than she
first lets on. Heidi (Holly Ramos), a frosted-blond urchin in black boots and
tiny dress, emerges as the unlikely nexus among Max (Barry del Sherman), a
disgraced but unrepentant white-collar plunderer; Victoria (Jessica Margaret
Dean), his icily grasping wife; and the offstage Renner, a murderous tycoon
ardently feared and admired by the others.
In a series of portentous blackout scenes punctuated by Robert
Oriol's eerie sound cues (Oriol also designed the stark lighting, Jeffrey
Atherton the primary-color set), Max chatteringly plots a comeback, Victoria
alternates between catatonia and calculation, and Heidi knowingly manipulates
both, to enigmatic ends.
Zimmerman's direction is sure and supple, his text tight, teasing
and self-contained, and his cast strikingly in tune with his unblinkingly bleak
vision.
The opening night audience seemed similarly attuned, particularly
to such observations as, "Stupidity in foreign affairs is the mark of a
great power; only the truly powerful can afford to be stupid," or,
"These people never admit they're wrong--they just declare victory and
move on." If that's your cup of iced tea, it is served crisply here,
without sweetener.
"The
Inside Job," presented by Padua Playwrights Productions at 2100 Square
Feet, 5615 San Vicente Blvd., Los
Angeles. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.
Ends Dec. 7. $20. (323) 692-2652. Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.