Communism and Burglary Go To Scotland

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Can't get enough of that Russian political satire? This weekend is your last chance to see the Open Fist's production of HOW TO EXPLAIN THE HISTORY OF COMMUNISM TO MENTAL PATIENTS before they head off to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which is sort of the Burning Man-meets-Sundance of theater festivals, with a lot of cobblestones.

The dark comedy, COMMUNISM, from the team of playwright Matei Visniec and director Florinel Fatulescu, was a hit for the Fist in their old space when they first produced it in 2000, eventually touring to New York, France, and Moldavia.

Its revival continues a conservative season for the company. The Fist revived John DeGroot's PAPA with Adrian Sparks as Hemingway, and just closed a slow, detail-oriented production of William Saroyan's THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE with another brilliantly drunk performance by Michael Franco, following his brilliantly drunk performance in CHERNOBYL. (LAist's review follows after the jump.)

A number of LA companies are going to Edinburgh this year, including the comedy troupe Burglars of Hamm with their successful show"Easy Targets," where audience members throw balled-up socks at the actors. The montly recurringEasy Targets, like Sacred Fools's weekly Serial Killers, has consistent staying power.

So support your LA theaters before they head to the land of William Wallace:

HOW TO EXPLAIN THE HISTORY OF COMMUNISM TO MENTAL PATIENTS: Thursday, July 20th - Saturday July 22nd at 8 pm only, at the New Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd. between Vine and Gower. Tickets: $20. Reservations: (323) 882-6912 or http://www.openfist.org.

EASY TARGETS: Friday, July 21st only, at M Bar, 1253 N. Vine (Hollywood & Vine) this Friday, July 21st at 8 pm only. Tickets: $5. Reservations: 323 856 0036. http://www.burglarsofhamm.com

Keep reading for a review of the Fist's THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE.

THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE ran from May 18 - July 1. William Saroyan's play, a soft-hearted tale of mob bosses, corrupt cops, and hookers with hearts of gold in pre-WWII San Francisco, has lost what edge it had. The best production of this play, and this one was pretty good, couldn't give it the bite it needed to be riveting. The experience was pleasurable, but without goosebumps.

With the highest of production values, and an exquisitely detailed set of Nick's Pacific Saloon by designer Donna Marquet, this show was nothing if not well-meaning. But it never felt like an enormous risk was being taken, in the writing, the blocking or the performances. We would have liked to see the mysteriously wealthy Joe (Michael Franco) surrounded by a more carefree cast of wild revelers, and to have believed that a raid was actually going to lead to violence.

Saroyan's writing is like hazy alcoholic syrup. A notable exception to the gradual pacing of the show was the scene where Kitty Duval (Anna Khaja) is menaced and forced to strip by a corrupt cop. The audience held their breath and waited for her rescue.

After the piece came down, the prop bar turned into a real bar, and an impromptu party of actors and audience members started drinking. The energy and companionship surging around the bar after the show closed was exactly what was missing from the staging. Director Stefan Novinski's pacing fell on the slow side too often for an already long piece, and it fell on Franco to maintain the energy.

Saroyan's son was present, and thrilled with the Fist's work, the night that LAist attended. This production was nothing if not faithful to his writing. If there's one thing the Fist does well, it's plays about angry, drunk men with hidden soft sides.

As they continue to produce their strongest standby work, we might be getting closer to thinking of 6209 Santa Monica as the real Open Fist Theatre - and ready for them to strike out into less well-known terrain. This trip to Scotland will hopefully light a fire under their stage, and produce a new variety of new work.