‘Embraces’ Vignettes Not Very Gripping

“Impassioned Embraces� at the Hudson Avenue Theatre is distressingly like the kiss of death: It’s unwelcome, and it seems to last an eternity.

Title and poster art notwithstanding, there is no romantic theme linking the 14 vignettes by John Pielmeier (of “Agnes of God� renown) that make up this amalgam. “Vignettes� is a polite euphemism for ideas too sketchy for one-act or even scene status and, despite their average 10-minute length, only a few manage to escape exhausting their premise long before their conclusion.

The best of the lot is a comic portrait of an aspiring actress (Lisa Bala), tracing her career from sleazy exploitation flicks to a hit series co-starring a chimp. Another sequence amusingly peels layers of deception from the soap-opera lives of two dance partners (Erin Horn, David Morgan). The remainder range from aimless to irritating. Just when we think we’ve reached the homestretch, the final sequence about an Acting Olympics competition splits into multiple skits like an MIRV multiple warhead missile. The results aren’t much of a credit to the cast, which also includes Heather Miller, Chuck Coudrain, Kevin P. Murphy, and Don Turner (who also directed).

In short, this is nothing more than a showcase vehicle, with precious little to showcase.

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* “Impassioned Embraces,� Hudson Avenue Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends March 26. $20. (323) 856-4200. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.