Jonathan Yukich's maddeningly inaccessible play is mired in gigantic pretensions that lead to minuscule accomplishments. Layers of randomly unconventional dramatic devices blur together in this would-be absurdist farce. If meaningful connections are intended among the parade of strident characters who enter, do their overwrought shtick, and exit, these links are never made clear.
For no apparent reason, the stage directions describing the characters' actions are sometimes read by Derrick Cole in a voiceover recording and at other times recited onstage by a buffoonish character, in top hat and tails, called Mr. Much (Dion Jackson), who also hovers in the background as a creepy surrealistic presence, trying to control what the characters do. A young man named Albert (Tom Walz), who has aspired to write nihilistic fiction since he was 8 years old, is presumably intended to be the focal character, or he might be if the script displayed any focus. Among the loonies Albert interacts with during his circuitous odyssey are his demented alcoholic mother (Piper Gunnarson), a hostile psychiatrist (Eric Hailey), and a young woman with a lollipop (Paige White), who dances with Albert. Until White abruptly hops onto the stage, we have been led to believe she's an audience member.
The actors can't be blamed for failing to illuminate nonsensical material. With the exception of Walz's restrained protagonist, director Ben Kusler has the entire cast pointlessly mugging and shouting out Yukich's unfunny lines. This calamitous endeavor confuses self-conscious dramaturgic anarchy with avant-garde profundity. The one-hour running time feels much longer.
Presented by Pardon My French in association with and at the MET Theatre, 1089 N. Oxford Ave., Hollywood. Thu.-Sat. 8 p.m. Apr. 12-May 19. (323) 957-1152. www.themettheatre.com.