‘Mother’ remains relevant

If only the relevance of “Mother Courage and Her Children� were passe. Alas, Bertolt Brecht’s 1939 masterpiece about the costs of peace in a war-driven world is more topical than ever. And, when executed by a company in step with Brecht’s anti-complacency tactics, “Mother Courage� is stunning theater as well. That is the case at New Place Theater Center, where Antaeus Company takes on this warhorse and runs with it.

The ticket table sits between a soup kitchen setup and a twinkling pavilion, instantly realizing Brecht’s societal poles. The warehouse space suggests a barn-raising left unfinished, courtesy of designer John Iacovelli. Actors stroll about in Michele K. Short’s earthen 17th century costumes; others are at makeup tables behind the wardrobe racks that frame the playing area. Alicia Wollerton’s accordionist noodles, Ellen Monocroussos’ lighting goes to one bulb, Janellen Steininger’s narrator enters, and a 30-year’s war for the ages ensues.

Director Andrew J. Robinson outdoes himself, keeping the delivery satirical and the stakes bayonet-sharp. His design team is seamless, everyone on the same tragicomic page. The actors form an elemental ensemble, grounded by Anne Gee Byrd’s astounding title profiteer. Her raucous attack reminds us that Brecht wanted Ethel Merman to play the role. To see her laser-beam eyes slowly fade at one loss after another to the military economy is to witness a definitive performance.

Byrd’s brilliance sparks her colleagues, many of them double-cast. At the reviewed performance, Harry Groener’s cook, John Apicella’s chaplain, Gigi Bermingham’s trollop and Ralph Drischell’s doddering colonel were especially vital. Matthew Jaeger and Tim Venable make apt sons, and the mute daughter of Katy Tyszkiewicz is deeply affecting. So goes this raw-boned rendition, the strongest Antaeus outing yet.

-- David C. Nichols

“Mother Courage and Her Children,� Warehouse Complex, New Place Theatre Center, 4900 N. Vineland Ave., North Hollywood. 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 5 p.m. Sundays. Ends May 22. $20-$25. (866) 811-4111. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

*

Farce takes off from 9/11

If comedy is tragedy plus time, might we not be ready now for a withering social satire of New Yorkers reeling from 9/11? Alas, playwright Gregory Phillips’ overstuffed “Dust,� now at Silver Lake’s Company of Angels, is not a reliable test case.

There are glimmers of wit and surprise, as well as awkward missteps galore, in this wannabe absurdist farce about a socialite Upper East Side family regrouping and rallying after their powerful patriarch goes down with the World Trade Center towers.

His ditzy widow (Susan Berger) is prone to reveries dressed in gas mask and superannuated couture, while a pair of contrasting daughters, cynical jet-setter Meredith (Caerthan Banks) and high-strung hostess Gertrude (Perry Smith), try to guess what Daddy’s wishes might have been, particularly concerning his mysterious, omnipotent business affairs.

If these three are brittle caricatures, they’ve got nothing on the motley menagerie Phillips crams into their kitschy sitting room (“set concept� by Christopher Nelson): an upscale art dealer (David Lipson) who thinks he’s a bloodhound after helping a Midwestern firefighter (Julia Flint) dig through wreckage; a pair of Third World mercenaries (Marcella Pabros-Clark, Carlos DeAlba) intent on some kind of nefarious deal; a tuxedoed Chinese delivery man (Blake Kushi), and Gertrude’s perky gay son (Artie O’Daly).

Amid all the contrived festivities, Phillips gives each character a soul-searching or expository monologue and aims some glancing blows at American militarism and complacency.

Director Tony Gatto and his cast seem to be having fun. But this would-be romp through the ashes of tragedy is too club-footed to dance.

-- Rob Kendt

“Dust,� Company of Angels, 2106 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake. 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. Ends May 14. $18. (323) 883-1717. Running time: 2 hours.

*

In the aftermath of Oklahoma City

Ten years ago this week, the Oklahoma City bombing devastated a city, a state, the nation. This unfathomable act shapes “Collateral Damage.� Philip Osment’s 2002 semi-docudrama receives its U.S. premiere at the Rude Guerrilla Theater Company.

Devised by Osment in tandem with Mike Alfords’ second-year London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art students, “Collateral Damage� weaves imagined reactions into actual events. After an opening tableau of wailing Iraqi women, we meet Timothy McVeigh (Frank Romeo), who is returning from the Gulf War. Next come McVeigh’s family and various Oklahoma City citizens. Some, like Brenda Kenworthy and Karen Harris’ bereaved relations, or Kelly Pinza’s interfaith wife, or Sara Mashayekh’s Waco survivor, are fictional creations. Others, like Bud Welch (David Cramer), haunted by his deceased daughter (Victoria Marcello), are not.

Welch’s path to forgiveness inspired “Collateral Damage,� which leaps between the survivors and perpetrator McVeigh. He goes from Waco-propelled violence to a Colorado prison, where he, Ted Kazcynski (Greg Cohen), Ramzi Yousef (Brian Batts) and Luis Felipe (Alejandro Lara) give “Collateral Damage� its edgiest moments.

Director-set designer Dave Barton makes ripe staging choices. The bombing is almost Kabuki, Barton’s black-and-white set strewn with overturned chairs and red paper. The back chain-link fence, covered by memorial artifacts during intermission, makes its own statement, aided by David Gallo’s sound and Renee Gallo’s lights.

Yet despite the script’s noble intentions and “Laramie Project� template, the academic origins are evident. The scattered narrative is equal parts pamphlet and drama. This softens the impact, as does uneven casting, at times almost community college level. Though worthwhile, “Collateral Damage� has more intellectual jolts than visceral ones, which diminishes its tragic scope.

-- D.C.N.

“Collateral Damage,� Empire Theater, 200 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Ends May 7. Mature audiences. $18. (714) 547-4688. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.