THEATER REVIEWS : ‘North Shore Fish’ Competent but Tame

Prolific Israel Horovitz has been cranking out well-crafted slices of contemporary Americana for years. He’s at his best when he’s focused on the mean lives of the working class, as he is in “North Shore Fish,” currently in a capable production at the Skylight Theater.

Set in a Massachusetts fish processing plant that’s on the brink of going out of business, “North Shore Fish” is a fairly standard workplace drama whose real subject is the trials and tribulations of its (mostly female) workers. The woes run mostly to money, men and harassment problems, but the ensemble work is so strong that you can almost overlook the pat and predictable plot line.

Competently directed by Oliver Goldstick, the cast has several standouts--including Anna Gunn as the volatile Florence, Marilyn Fox as the meek Maureen and Jeryl Jagoda as self-effacing Josephine. Aesthetically though, “North Shore Fish” is so tame that you could just set up a camera and tape it.

Given that the medium is theater and not TV, Horovitz could go out on a limb--some limb, any limb--and make a stronger statement about the too-seldom discussed issues of class he almost raises. If he did, these actors could no doubt handle the challenge. As is, potential bombshell topics like the feminization of poverty just sit there without being touched, like yet another breaded fishstick waiting to be wrapped by the women on the line.

*”North Shore Fish,” Skylight Theater, 1816 1/2 N. Vermont Ave., Hollywood, Fridays-Sundays, 8 p.m.; Sundays 3 p.m.; Ends June 20. $12. (213) 466-1767. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.