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'O.J.' keeps satire pointed, hilarious

Play stays abreast of trial with weekly updates, rewrites

rewrites

By Lael Loewenstein

Daily Bruin Staff

It's an equal-opportunity offender, as politically incorrect as the most blistering Howard Stern show. It's also a savvy, hilarious and scathing commentary on the madness in our midst.

A send-up of the Simpson trial and the media frenzy surrounding it, "O.J. Law" is one of the most pointed satires around.

The intelligent, outlandish comedy, originally written for radio by Gary Gordon and Ron Birnbach, was intended for a limited run. But strong word-of-mouth has kept audiences coming since December.

The skeletal, loosely structured plot centers on a Hollywood writer doing an O.J. movie for television. But there's ample latitude for irreverent musical numbers and comedic sketches, lampooning everything from O.J.'s exercise video to the behind-the-scenes bickering of the defense team to Marcia Clark's new hairdo.

Some of the better musical numbers include an impassioned Dionne Warwick (Carrie Dobro) crooning "Do You Know the Way to Save O.J." and a pair of songwriters pitching their sitcom-inspired melodies. To the tune of "The Brady Bunch," they sing: "It's a story of a football hero/Did he really go berserk and kill his wife?/You should never mix drugs and burgers/with a very large German knife." And to "The Beverly Hillbillies" theme: "Come and listen to my story 'bout a man named Juice/Well, he had a little problem with spousal abuse."

Sure, it's all in bad taste, but that's exactly the point.

In a comic bit, there's an ad for "SideBar," a new stress-relieving energy snack, pitched with utter conviction by the rival attorneys. In two flavors ("chocolate, with caffeine or marshmallow, with valium"), the SideBar, they enthuse, is "the one thing we can all agree on!"

Also memorable: a bumbling Inspector Clouseau (Rich Levier) trying to solve the murders; a breezy Susan Dey (Dobro), drafted by the defense team to reprise her "L.A. Law" role, and a vapid, surfer-dude Kato (Jason Levin) believing he's come to court for an acting audition ("What's my motivation?" he demands helplessly).

The cast of 10, playing a combined total of 80 characters, keeps the show energetic. Standouts include Dobro, Julie Ambrose as Marcia Clark, and Greg Eagles, an astonishing mimic, as O.J.

Updated every week to include the trial's latest developments, "O.J. Law" would be most entertaining to those who follow the court proceedings. A number of in-jokes would be lost on those unfamiliar with the trial.

The weekly additions and changes mean that the actors hold their scripts throughout, but the written dialogue serves less as a crutch than as a prompter. Gary Gordon's tight direction keeps the play percolating with humor and swiftly moving transitions for all of its uninterrupted 90 minutes.

In one sequence that works quite effectively, Nicole Simpson's ghost appears briefly but memorably to reproach the writer, the media, and all of us, lest anyone forget the real reason for this trial. It's a potent, self-reflexive moment that may be perceived as a critique of the playwrights themselves.

In drama and literature, satire has consistently proven one of the most potent forms of criticism; often even the most hyperbolic suggestions contain kernels of truth. One of "O.J. Law's" most far-fetched yet oddly rational notions: The city of L.A. provoked and then exploited the murders, hoping to attract tourists and revive the economy after the natural and sociopolitical disasters of the last few years.

It gives one pause to think.

THEATER: "O.J. Law." Complex Theater, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m, through June 17. Admission is $10. For more info call (213) 466-1767.

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