To say Diane Luby Lane loves books is an extreme understatement. If this one-woman show is indeed autobiographical, then the actor-writer is obsessed with the printed and bound word. This 75-minute piece is an ode to books of all kinds and how they changed Lane's life. A few of her anecdotes could use editing, and the last segment becomes more of an actor's showcase than a play, but most of the piece is engaging and thoughtfully written. Director Jeffrey Bihr creates an inviting atmosphere, enhanced greatly by Lane's charisma and her versatility as a performer.
Lane takes us on a journey of what books have meant to her from the time she was a young girl in a New Jersey town where not much ever happened. She reads passages from the romance novels she stole from her mom, as well as from segments of self-help books she bought as a young woman. But her reading list takes a sharp turn during the evening's funniest scene, which takes place in a Japanese bathhouse. It is there, through an odd discussion with a group of models from various countries, that she discovers a world she never knew, including Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Henry Miller, and Walt Whitman.
Lane transitions smoothly from herself into the other characters. Her accents are solid, and her physical comedy is fun to watch. Her liberal use of the book-filled set, designed by Joel Daavid and David Fofi, helps the audience enter Lane's world, and Don Cesario's lighting design beautifully sets the appropriate tones. The piece, however, gets lost toward its end. Lane has a fascinating conversation with her favorite authors, who are represented by photos. The pictures are accompanied by recorded voiceovers that, for the most part, use direct quotes from the authors. Instead of Lane delivering the dialogue, however, she portrays an old Jewish agent, and then a nerdish schoolteacher. The characterizations are solid, but their existence is unnecessary. And the final piece, a lengthy, well-acted look at the life and work of Chicano poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, feels out of place. But when Lane tells her story, it's a book come to life, and it's one that's worth reading.
"Deep Sea Diving," presented by Renascent Films at the Elephant Asylum Theatre, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Jun. 3-July 3. $20. (323) 960-4451.