Josh MacDonald wrote Halo for a budget company that toured Eastern Canada on a shoestring. Bruce Gray's direction and Jeff G. Rack's design keep the setting simple, opening with a bare stage surrounding stacked, unmatched pieces of furniture and Christmas packages, which are speedily set up to represent a park bench, a hospital bed, a coffee shop, and stadium seating, in a minimalist set that could play as well in a schoolroom or a church hall.
Casey Quinn (a bright and bewitching Frances Manzo) is a cute barista, dishing up quips with the doughnuts and lattes, fending off moochers, and courting the attention of the ingenuous JJ (an aptly cast John T. Cogan), who's obsessively involved with his abs and pecs and the wrath of God, not Casey's seductive ways. Various local characters are drawn in outline, well-presented in double roles by Steve Brewster, Christy Holy, Christine Joelle, Gary Ballard, Glen Brackenridge, Emily Button, and David Hunt Stafford. Outstanding is Ballard as an exceptionally funny Fat Bob; Brackenridge is a very credible, and handsome, pastor who's not always sure of his faith. Joelle shines as the grating media person we all love to hate. Stafford tears out hearts as McMullen, the bereft father of a comatose child who desperately needs a miracle and her elder sister, Lizzie (Button), who's losing her faith in herself, her father, and the possibility of miracles.
The big question is about faith and fraud. Is the mysterious image of Christ that appeared overnight on the side wall of a lowly coffee shop a sign or a sham? Is this a miracle, or is it just very good publicity? And if it is, who done it? There are several stories here, all faith-based; latching on to just one is like trying to catch up with all the cars on a speedway.
There are several well-tuned performances, as well as decent lighting, sound, and costuming. The play is specifically addressed to Christians and may be uncomfortable for others.
Presented by Theatre 40 at the Reuben Cordova Theatre, 241 Moreno Dr., Beverly Hills. Oct. 4-Nov. 6. Repertory schedule. (310) 364-0535. www.theatre40.org.