Political Satire Not Quite on the ‘Nose’

Director Ashley Carr Jr. never takes Bob Berkey’s political satire “The Dictator’s Nose� to the realm of the absurd, but Jeff McGrath makes a suitably slimy dictator, complemented by Julie Dixon’s fiery portrayal of his wife as the real power behind the posturing politician.

The crux of Berkey’s play is that during an important rally, a group of highly trained subjects holds up placards to form the face of the dictator. One day, Dick (Chris McCool), who holds up the nose, is disastrously late. This causes social turmoil.

Without this entry into absurdity, Berkey’s play falls apart. McGrath is intriguingly chameleonic--sinisterly heartless when ordering executions, but dog-like in his submission to his wife, played by Dixon with the fiery power of a dominatrix.

The cast is mostly dressed in blue hospital pants and shapeless shirts to illustrate the oppressive uniformity. Dixon and most of the ensemble are double- or triple-cast but do not convincingly differentiate their characters.

*

* “The Dictator’s Nose,� California Repertory Company at Edison Theatre, 213 E. Broadway, Long Beach. Wednesday-Thursday, 7 p.m.; next Friday, 8 p.m.; Oct. 9, 2 and 8 p.m. Ends Oct. 9. $20. (562) 432-1818. Running time: 2 hours.