STAGE REVIEW : ‘Russian Connection’ From 3 Troupes

It is an audacious idea in principle that Los Angeles’ Mojo Ensemble is trying out at the Heliotrope Theatre this week and next with Moscow’s Chamber Forms Theatre and Washington’s The Actors’ Ensemble. But a choice of stylistically difficult plays, a lack of audience and at least one unforeseen circumstance have combined to spoil the fun.

The three companies have ambitiously joined forces to present, bilingually and in rotating repertory, Alexander Sukhova-Kobylin’s 1869 “The Death of Tarelkin� and Arthur Kopit’s 1960 “Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad.�

The umbrella title for the project is “The Russian Connection� and bilingually here means exactly that: The Soviet actors speak their speeches in Russian, while the Americans respond in English. The result, after a period of adjustment for non-Russian speakers, is a little like doing a puzzle where some pieces are missing, but where you still get the big picture.

The plays themselves, though nearly a century apart, are linked by style and form. Both are broad, satirical farces. Sukhova-Kobylin’s “Tarelkin� is a lampoon of bureaucracy written in the manner of Gogol crossed with Kafka; Kopit’s “Oh Dad,� which was always tellingly subtitled “A Pseudoclassical Tragifarce in a Bastard French Tradition,� is, indeed, in the manner of Ionesco, that Romanian turned Frenchman, who is always Kafkaesque.

But the plays have been staged in a straightforward manner by each of the joint artistic directors of Chamber Forms, offering no fresh insights or temptations.

Andrey Malaev has directed “The Death of Tarelkin� very broadly, using the Heliotrope’s catwalk above the stage as well as the stage itself. David Schneiderov brings his actors out into the audience for parts of “Oh Dad, Poor Dad.� Despite the distinctly superior talent of Igor Korneychuk, who takes on the dual role of Tarelkin/Kopylov in “Tarelkin� and the loner Jonathan in “Oh Dad, Poor Dad,� both plays feel fresh out of mothballs, moving at a far more sluggish pace than we like.

In addition, the collapse of actress Ramona Rhoades halfway through Tuesday’s performance of the Kopit play brought things to an abrupt halt. Rhoades, who plays the key role of Mme. Rosepettle in “Oh Dad, Poor Dad,� is recovering from what has been medically characterized as exhaustion and is expected back in harness tonight.

Fairness and common sense preclude a full-fledged review of “Oh Dad,� but the play itself shows its age, and “Tarelkin� is only moderately interesting, chiefly as a literary curio new to us and for Korneychuk’s performance.

One questions the wisdom of presenting two pieces caught in a time warp, whose form is out of favor in the West, and presenting them with a company of actors in which only the Soviet contingent has a real flair for the style.

Another mystery: The one group that might have no trouble relating to these productions seems nowhere in sight. Where oh where is Los Angeles’ sizable Soviet community when we need it?

“The Russian Connection,� Heliotrope Theatre, 660 N. Heliotrope Ave., Los Angeles. “The Death of Tarelkin�: tonight, Thursday and next Friday, 8 p.m. ; Saturday and Nov. 3, 3 and 8 p.m. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes; “Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad�: Tuesday, Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Sunday and Nov. 2, 3 and 8 p.m. Dark Monday. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes. In Russian and English. $12-$15; (213) 660-8587.