11, September

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11, September Breadline Theatre Group at the Odyssey Theatre Reviewed by Jennie Webb January 20, 2010 Human beings always want to make sense of things. We try to find order in chaos, and many of us prefer a good conspiracy theory to assigning supposedly random happenings to something like, well, fate. In his new play, writer Paul Kampf may be exploring interesting notions of possibility and probability and destiny in the story of two individuals bombarded by seeming coincidences of epic proportions. The only thing that's certain is that he loses the audience in the process. The play is set in New York, eight years after 9/11. Kampf plays Martin Healy, an international academic who's popping into town to lecture on the mathematical probabilities of the tragic events surrounding that now-significant date in 2001. However, he's taken with a hot young waitress (Liz Rebert) in a café, and a one-night stand filled with mind-blowing sex changes their lives forever. Director Gita Donovan does a lovely job guiding Kampf and the perky Rebert through the emotional maze of this unwieldy play, Donovan's smart staging on James Spencer's evocative apartment set keeps us engaged, as does the beautiful lighting, by Bosco Flanagan. But although both actors are solid, Kampf seems strangely miscast: His Martin is more of a poor schlub than an irresistible older man, and we never quite buy the relationship. Too bad, because our investment in that relationship is supposed to anchor us as we're hit hard by one incredible revelation after another. Add lines of truly awkward dialogue ("You know your Klimt!"), and all that comes at us in "11, September" just becomes too difficult to navigate. Presented by Breadline Theatre Group at the Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A. Jan. 8–Feb. 7. Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m. (310) 477-2055, ext. 2. www.11septemberplay.info.

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