Battle Hymn: Jim Leonard’s play follows teenaged, impregnated Martha (Suzy Jane Hunt) from the eve of the Civil War into the 21st century. She refuses to give birth until America is on the road to recovery – and therefore the play is an ideal way to celebrate the Obama era. Leonard maintains a lighthearted tone throughout most of Martha’s odyssey, with deliberate anachronisms, genuinely wacky images and moments that require actors and audience not to take it all so seriously. Hunt’s a wonder in her high-flying role, but so are the four men (Bill Heck, William Salyers, Robert Manning Jr., John Short), who play all the other parts, crossing not only the gender line and occasionally the racial line but also the species line. John Langs’ direction and a couple of musical numbers by Michael A. Levine help energize the proceedings. Circle X Theatre at [Inside] the Ford, Cahuenga Pass, Hollywood. (323) 461-3673. Fordtheatres.org. Closes March 7.
The Bird and Mr. Banks:A seemingly drone-like comptroller (Sam Anderson) rescues a co-worker (Jenny Kern) from their lecherous boss (Chet Grissom). The comedy and unexpected horror-genre elements in Keith Huff’s play are dulled by a surfeit of avian imagery and other cloying stabs at excess sentiment. Mark St. Amant directs. Road Theatre, North Hollywood. (866) 811-4111. roadtheatre.org. Closes March 21.
The Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Molière wrote this satire of the nouveaux riches as spoken interludes within a lavish royal ballet. This adaptation by director Frederique Michel and designer Charles Duncombe is on a much smaller scale but retains an elegant look. The laughs don't flow freely until the second act, perhaps because the first scenes focus on the foolish title character's (blissfully goony Jeff Atik) “studies” instead of his and his daughter's love lives. Ruthie Crossley, Troy Dunn, Deborah Knox and others deliver precisely chiseled comic performances. City Garage, Santa Monica. (310) 319-9939. citygarage.org. Closes Feb. 22.
Candida:Shaw’s comedy, about a strong woman (Willow Geer) who’s asked to choose between her popular preacher husband (Mark Deakins) and the gangly and lovesick young poet Marchbanks (Johnathan McClain), is in the skilled hands of director Kathleen F. Conlin and a sterling cast. At last the lustrous Geer, who developed her talents at her family’s Theatricum Botanicum, is entering the wider world of L.A. theater. Colony Theatre, 555 N. 3rd St., Burbank. (818) 558-7000 x15. colonytheatre.org. Phone or see website for times. $32-$42. Closes Sun., March 8.
Daddy's Dyin:Who's Got the Will? Del Shores' first hit comedy - originally set among white small-town Texans - receives a mostly African American-cast revival, staged by its original producer, Theatre/Theater’s Jeff Murray. The racial transformation is working well, not only in the makeup of the audience but in the ease with which most of the lines are adaptable to African American voices within the same small town. There are two different casts. I saw this show earlier at Theatre/Theater’s Pico Boulevard venue; it had some memorable performances but could have used a tightened pace. Theatre/Theater-Hollywood. (323) 954-9795. theatretheater.net. Closes Sun., March 15.
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