American Dream DOA at ‘Highway’ Intersection

SAN DIEGO â€”  They have seen the future, and man, does it look bleak.

The Sledgehammer Theatre has gone futuristic with “U.S. Highway Love Slaves,� two new works by different authors, conceived and written as short screenplays but being staged as plays, each dealing with the Southern California experience.

While the plays may seem worlds apart, one thing they agree on is the death of the American dream in the Southland, pocked with drugs, mired in want and flooded with despair.

So much for “go west, young man!�

David Rosenthal’s “The Speed of Amnesia,� the more comprehensible of the plays, concerns a drifter trying to will back a dead woman that he loved. He succeeds only in temporarily summoning up her spirit from her sister, who misses the woman with a comparable passion.

In Erik Ehn’s more problematic “The Silver,� bad water in San Diego has reduced the city’s population to eight. Everyone else’s marrow has been turned to silver, while the rest of their bodies have filled with other heavy metals. The survivors mine the bodies of the dead for the silver to help them make a movie about their city before they, too, die.

Scott Feldsher, Sledgehammer’s artistic director who co-conceived these ambitious works, has directed them with his usual cinematic acuity but harsh, dark sensibility. “The Speed of Amnesia� offers more to grab onto because there is more of a story.

Shane (Phil Beaumont), the surly drifter, pines for the dead Lara (Jenn Pina, seen as a radiant memory in a ‘50s prom dress). One wonders if Rosenthal meant Lara to be seen as a person or as a symbol for the death of a time and a way of life that the ‘50s gown represents.

In any case, the story works as a cautionary tale about the living who won’t accept death as a barrier to love.

Lara’s sister Vera (Dorrie Board) is drawn to Shane by their common devotion--which leaves Vera’s husband, Pete (Jim Johnston), seething about the inevitable.

Set designer David Ledsinger has rooted the sadness in a swirl of sand, wire fences, an old crashed car and a sharply raked stage from which running water trickles into a round pool. An ensemble of Bone Rattlers, working like a Greek chorus, sharpens the mood.

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Like “The Speed of Amnesia,� the landscape of “The Silver� offers up something fascinating to look at. But it is harder to comprehend. This piece was conceived as a silent movie, in silverish grays and blacks and whites, with subtitles and the superbly talented A. J. Croce playing original piano music as live accompaniment.

Skillful mime and clever snatches of homemade-looking film intercut with a lot of male nudity and long, enigmatic episodes that don’t seem to go anywhere. In the end, it is a few images of brotherly bonding that linger, like a few bright pebbles in a muddy pond, along with Croce’s jazzy, poignant music. Actually, you could do a whole lot worse than to close your eyes to the play--and just listen to Croce.

* “U.S. Highway Love Slaves� (“The Speed of Amnesia� and “The Silver� in repertory), 1620 6th Ave., San Diego. “The Speed of Amnesia,� Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. Ends Sunday. “The Silver,� Friday-Saturday, 9:45 p.m. Ends Saturday. $10-$15. (619) 544-1484. Running times: “The Speed of Amnesia,� 1 hour, 5 minutes; “The Silver,� 1 hour, 48 minutes.

Jenn Pina: Lara; Dymphna

Dorrie Board: Vera

Phil Beaumont: Shane; Flu

Jim Johnston: Pete; Tobias

Gregory Clemens: Razz Skullpin

Michael Hummel: Ron

Samuel Valdez L.: Joey

Sarah Golden: Coreen

Jeannine Torres: Alicia

A Sledgehammer Theatre production of two plays in repertory, “The Speed of Amnesia� by David Rosenthal and “The Silver� by Erik Ehn, directed by Scott Feldsher. Sets: David Ledsinger. Lights: William Zukley. Sound: Phil Beaumont. Costumes: Dione Lebhar. Scenic artist-technician: David Weiner. Stage manager: Suzanne Beguelin.