Youthful Cast Survives Hoary Plot Turns of ‘Tinsel in Their Eyes’

On opening night at the Coronet Theatre, after the final curtain of “Tinsel in Their Eyes,� director Rand Hopkins took the stage to introduce the actors and to announce that his play is a work-in-progress.

Was there a hint of apology in that announcement?

The cast members, a group of 14- to 18-year-olds and two adults, took deserved bows--they survived two hours and 15 minutes of maudlin cliches about struggling young actors without wincing.

Hopkins, who is touring the show with his Atlanta-based youth theater, Stage Directions Inc., has had success with other plays. His drama “The Boy King,� based on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. as a child, was made into a television special in 1987, winning the prestigious Peabody Award.

“Tinsel in Their Eyes,� however, is as painful as it sounds.

In Hollywood, nice girl Amber (Eleanor Jones) and snobbish Margeaux (Brandi Burkett) are auditioning for a new film--Margeaux gets the lead, Amber lands a secondary role.

Buck (Christopher Bauer) loses the male lead to nice guy Kyle (Sy Seidell) who was only along to lend Buck moral support. Sensitive former child-star Robby (Jason Eden), trying to make a comeback, gets a secondary role.

Nice guy Kyle gets a swelled head for a while and forgets his friends, Amber and Robby, who are hurt, but loyal. Margeaux alienates everyone and takes drugs.

Buck, in an agony of despair, becomes a male hustler.

It’s a year later and one rainy night, Buck meets the prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold (Elizabeth Jetton) who presciently tells him his mama still loves him despite everything he has done, and tells him about Natalie Wood movies and her own aspirations to become a star.

“You’re OK,� Buck tells her, “I hope you make it.�

“You bet your sweet tushie I will,� she replies.

But Buck’s life style has caught up with him and he sends Kyle a letter telling him he is dying. The implication of AIDS is obvious.

“I guess it’s true what they say about the wages of sin being death,� Buck writes.

The letter causes Kyle to reassess his own life. There are tearful reunions all around. Ludicrous snob Margeaux gets her comeuppance for being such a bad person--the plum role in the sequel to the film will go to Amber.

The nadir of this bludgeoning moral lesson, however, is reached in a scene with an interviewer, a pointlessly offensive gay parody played by Jeff Goodson.

Performances continue at 366 N. La Cienega Blvd. tonight, Thursday, Friday and next Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets: $8; (213) 657-3270.