"Shame" a fable of Gothamites

Industry professionals, especially artists' representatives, may be intrigued by the Human Zoo Theatre's premiere of writer-director Kuros Charney's dark satire "Shame and Desire", now at the Stella Adler Theatre. This fable of drug addiction and sexual manipulation amid the Manhattan publication grind contains cut-throat vitriol suitable for countless studio e-mail smear campaigns.

Set in 2000, "Shame" involves four Gothamites whose contrasting facades conceal equivalent senses of entitlement. The protagonist, Daniel "Neil" Barrington III (S. Greg Gardner), is an alcoholic blueblood whose cocaine dealing outstrips his writing ambitions. His friend Peter (Marc Chaiet) is a writer poised for commercial triumph, a plot point established during the snort-punctuated opening banter.

The psychosexual narrative turns on the two men's co-dependent revenge-seduction pact, which targets rising publicists Lana (Kirsten Roeters) and Kasey (Julie Quinn). The interactions between these parallel pairs of so-called best friends, best left undisclosed, form a domino trail of multiple betrayals and spiritual reversals.

Charney's talky text is technically adept, although its humor is at best sour, and is emotionally hobbled by the Byzantine mechanics of the conflicting agendas.

The acting largely redresses this. Gardner's steady stream of scorching contempt masking inner torment is well matched by Quinn's double edged affability.

Roeter's early Lolita Davidovich quality offsets Lana's vapidity, and Chaiet underplays with quiet cunning.

This fine quartet elevates the unappealing characters and narrow stakes as far beyond their indie screenplay constraints as possible, though following Charney's rhythms sometimes exposes beats.

Jason Cohen's bipolar set lacks the objets d'art that moderns favor but is otherwise starkly representative. As, in fairness, is "Shame and Desire", an acquired taste as dramaturgy that perhaps presages a scabrous feature film.

-David Nichols

SHAME AND DESIRE
(Recomended)

Writer-director Kuros Charney's sardonic romantic comedy set in the present New York publishing world harkens back to the dialogue-driven screwball comedies of the 1930s. Struggling alcoholic writer Neil Barrington III (S. Greg Gardner) and his wealthy cokehead buddy, Peter Gains (Marc Chaiet), plot revenge against powerful, beautiful publicist Kasey Van Hellman (Julie Quinn). Kasey humiliated Neil at a book party, so the men toy with her best friend and less successful publicist, Lana Garett (Kirsten Roeters), who likes Neil. When Neil, who's obsessed with Kasey, woos Lana, Kasey, who disapproves of Neil's drug dealing, tries to warn Lana, who in turn thinks Kasey is jealous. Quinn, who's sufficiently frosty as ice queen Kasey, hardly turns up the heat, even when contracts are at stake, which makes Neil's hot pursuit of her character seem puzzling; Gardner, on the other hand, possesses enough charisma to almost compensate for their lack of chemistry. Charney's shortcomings as a director are offset by his delicious script, chock-full of snappy one-liners and Byzantine plot threads that keep the audience guessing right up to the surprise ending. Human Zoo Theater at the Stella Adler Theater, Second Floor, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 20. (323) 860-6572.

Written by Miriam Jacobson 8/21/2003