Shanley Tracks Love’s Path in ‘Reconciliation’

Don’t come late to the revival of John Patrick Shanley’s “Italian American Reconciliation,” playing in repertory at the Zoo Theatre as part of a Shanley Festival presented by the Subtle Bliss Theatre Company.

The affable narrator Aldo (Joe Basile) will take you to task, and in this small venue you won’t go unnoticed.

Shanley, who wrote about an off-the-wall love triangle in the movie “Moonstruck,” took on the contorted path of love among Italian Americans in this piece as well.

Huey (John Ciccolini) has donned tight black riding pants and a white poet’s shirt to court his ex-wife, Janice (Kate Hodge). But first he must break up with his devoted girlfriend, Teresa (Patricia Skeriotis), and get his best friend Aldo to cool down his trigger-happy ex--a harridan who killed Huey’s dog before taking a shot at him.

Hodge doesn’t appear until the second act, but she performs with great verve and sensitivity.

Director Peter Allas keeps the slightly offbeat feel of Shanley’s reality by not allowing the performances to veer into cartoon-land.

This two-month festival will present seven full-length plays--the other six are “The Big Funk,” “Four Dogs & a Bone,” “Savage in Limbo,” “The Dreamer Examines His Pillow,” “Psychopathia Sexualis” and “Women of Manhattan”--plus six shorts.

The company includes 12 directors and 51 actors.

*

“Italian American Reconciliation,” Zoo Theatre, 1611 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. In repertory, call for schedule. $20. (323) 460-4233. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.