The Muscles In our Toes
The Muscles In our Toes, written by Stephen Belber, is a comedy(?) playing at the El Portal Forum Theatre in North Hollywood. The problem for me was that I didn’t find much to laugh about. In fact, I was turned off by the characters, the language, and the insinuations spewed by all.
At their 20th high school reunion, four high school friends gather together in the choir room to get away from the rest of the crowd, Reg (Michael Benyaer) a Persian/American, Dante (Al Espinosa), a former Catholic now converted to Judaism, Les (Daniel Milder) who is involved in theater and film and Phil, Dante’s younger brother who is gay. Believing that their friend Jim has been kidnapped, the four of them plan all methods of ridiculous schemes to attempt to save him as they drink themselves into a stupor. When they can’t agree, they fight and argue. When they do agree, their ideas are too preposterous to make the play have any sense. The comings and goings of a very soused Carrie (Kristen Lee Kelly), adds to the tension between Dante and Reg. When Jim (Keith Ewell) shows up in the choir room, the plot gets even sillier.
Directed by Jennifer Chambers, the best I can say for this production is that it has a strong cast who put their all into their roles. It continues at the El Portal Theatre through June 29, at the El Portal Forum Theatre, 5259 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. Tickets are available by calling (866) 811-4222, or online at www.ovationtix.com.