Four

Celebration Theatre
7051B Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.
Through Dec. 11
Thursday-Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 3 p.m.
Tickets: $20
(323) 967-1884

As a native Hartforder, it's refreshing to see a play based in the overlooked little city. The location couldn't be more ideal, as Christopher Shinn's Four sets a believable scene on July 4, 1992, where lost souls have nowhere better to go than movie theaters and high school basketball courts while contemplating their need for human contact.

Michael Matthews takes on his first Celebration Theatre production as the new managing artistic director, and he chose wisely with Four. Instead of being a coming out story, it is a "coming into" experience as 16-year-old June (Nathan Frizzell) meets Joe (Michael A. Sheppard), a closeted, married black man, on the Internet. The two meet for a night on the town, while Joe's 16-year-old daughter Abigayle (Cesili Williams) leaves behind her ailing mother to play coy games with her smitten pot-dealing friend Dexter (Blaine Vedros).

The story takes place in the course of a few hours, as the four halfheartedly anticipate the Fourth of July fireworks while getting to know one another. Frizzell is most convincing as June -- frail and lonely, he is being led solely by his desires, but isn't even confident enough to know what his favorite movie is. Sheppard nails the complex character of Joe -- he seems quite content to live on the downlow, and he is proud and outpsoken: He parades the young boy around the small city while lying to his daughter about his whereabouts, brags about his literary tastes, and never stops snarfing down junk food. The dynamics between the two change visibly throughout the night, as June grows bolder and more desperate, while Joe's fatherly instincts emerge as he tries to guide the inexperienced boy toward what he wants. There is something inherently uncomfortable and disturbing about this twosome, but somehow you're rooting for them to find themselves in one another.

In comparison, the parallel story of Abigayle and Dexter falls a bit short; while both characters are individually endearing, the motivation behind their pairing isn't fully developed. Williams as Abigayle is alternately sweet and tough, giggling at her date's unsubtle come ons but sharply pushing him away with her superior intellect. Her emotional conflict is alluded to when she handles her mother, a demanding offstage presence who is withering away with depression, and when she lights up at the sound of her father's voice on a telephone. Vedros is adorable with a cute smile and an "aw shucks" attitude underneath his homeboy posturing. But their emotional and physical needs never seem as hungry as the other pair -- instead, their story just amplifies the desperation of the two men, and serves to remind that a father is betraying his family. Ultimately Shinn's play is neither social commentary nor a judgmental exposé rather, it offers a glimpse into four individuals who don't know themselves well enough to find someone who can truly fill their emotional crevices. --Sarika Chawla

The Grand Tour

The Colony Theatre Company
555 N. Third St., Burbank
Through Dec. 4
Friday-Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Tickets: $43-48
(818) 558-7000
www.ColonyTheatre.org

Even serious musical theater fans can be forgiven for not knowing The Grand Tour, Jerry Herman's 1979 musical about a mismatched trio dodging Nazis in occupied France that played only 61 performances in its Broadway debut a generation ago. Although Herman earned a Tony nomination for his luscious score of characteristically infectious, upbeat tunes, the almost hopelessly innocent show closed quickly in a season dominated by the original production of Sweeney Todd. In spite of The Grand Tour's imperfections, the Colony Theatre should be thanked for giving Herman and the show's surviving book writer Mark Bramble (his partner, Michael Stewart, died in 1987) the opportunity to revisit what they call "a show we loved and lost."

The show centers on S.L. Jacobowsky (the irresistible Jason Graae), a small but clever Jew who has survived the perils of the first half of the 20th century with wiles, charm and more than a little luck. By snagging the last car available in Paris before the Nazis roll in, Jacobowsky offers to help an anti-Semitic Polish colonel (John Ganun) to get important documents to northern France for safe transport to Allied forces in Britain. Along the way the odd couple meets up with the colonel's lovely French girlfriend, Marianne (Tami Tappan Damiano), and together, the threesome goes through a series of silly adventures on their "grand tour" of occupied France.

The juxtaposition of Herman's characteristically upbeat score and the show's Nazi undertones creates a sometimes jarring disconnect that no script tinkering could solve. But if audiences are able to leave their cynicism at the door, The Grand Tour offers a buffet of hummable Herman tunes ("Marianne" is a beautiful ballad and "I'll Be Here Tomorrow" is a signature Herman tune of determination), and the bare-bones Colony production boasts a winning cast that delivers the songs with gusto. The original cast may have had Joel Grey, but Jason Graae seems born to play Jacobowsky. His mischievous grin and contagious joy combine with a versatile singing voice to take the show over the finish line with grace and determination. Ganun's redwood-size colonel is the perfect counterpoint to Graae, and Damiano has a lovely singing voice that can shake the rafters when necessary.

This "world premiere revision" of The Grand Tour may not catapult this long-forgotten piece back to Broadway, but for musical theater fans it is a wonderful chance to discover a show that theater history almost forgot. -- Christopher Cappiello