May 20, 2005
THEATER BEAT
'Lydia': sex, lies and ambivalence
As Elvis Costello once mind-bogglingly put it, "When I said
that I was lying, I might have been lying." The sexually entangled characters
in Phinneas Kiyomura's sere, tender new play "Lydia in Bed" do a lot
of this special kind of lyingÑsincere but equivocating, half-confessing but
always holding some deeper, darker confession at bay.
At its best, Kiyomura's play, rendered by a strong, fearless cast
under director Sam Roberts, makes his characters' confusion palpable, conjuring
a disturbingly recognizable ambivalence in the fractured tale of a young
couple, Lydia (Millie Chow) and Bob (Kiyomura), whose budding collegiate dalliance
is threatened by Bob's laconic, womanizing father (an astonishingly,
hilariously grim Phil Ward), by Dad's edgy, drug-dealing companion (Lauren
Letherer) and by Bob's plaintive ex (Alina Phelan).
Roberts' staging is stark and naked, both literally and emotionally,
with an installation-like set of paintings on glass by TJ Moore and pulsating
alt-rock score/sound design by Andy Mitton.
But once Kiyomura situates us in this house of mirrors, he gives
us the runaround. In a self-consciously cut-up structure, he interrupts and
replays scenes in out-of-order bits. Even what seem like straightforward
monologues contain spring-loaded surprises.
Ultimately, the result is more formalistic than revealing.
Kiyomura starts out wearing a compellingly conflicted heart on his sleeve and
ends by pulling needless tricks from it.
"Lydia in Bed," Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N.
Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays. Ends June 4. $15 to
$20. (323) 856-8611 or www.theatreofnote.com. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.