A 35-year-old Sunday School teacher who’s saving herself for Hugh Grant. A man who might just be the next best thing to Hugh. A child grieving his mother’s recent death. An elephant guilty of murder. A doctor given a week to tame this lethal beast. Stir in a sexually hyperactive younger sister and you’ve got Bekah Brunstetter’s latest theatrical gem, Miss Lilly Gets Boned, freshly revised from its 2010 World Premiere for its 2019 Rogue Machine West Coast debut.

Larisa Oleynik stars as the titular Lilly, who might not have met the man of her romcom dreams yet, but at the very least has God to talk to on a daily basis and her ten-year-old Sunday charges to enthrall with her favorite Bible tales.

Lilly’s 30-year-old spinning instructor sister Lara (Tasha Ames), on the other hand, has met (and boned) many a man, one of whom has recently left her with a teensy-weensy STD, but no biggie. At least SHE’s not wasting her time holding out for Mr. Right.

Speaking of whom, who should show up in Miss Lilly’s class this Sunday but new-in-town archaeologist Richard (Iman Nazemzadeh), whose Hugh Grantish looks, charm, sex appeal, and English accent could be God’s answer to a 30something virgin’s prayers.

Better still, Richard is recently single, and if he seems to be taking his late wife’s death like a man, the same cannot be said for Richard’s young son Jordan (Brady Amaya), who’s been acting out in Sunday School class to Miss Lilly’s caring dismay.

Last but not least, there’s elephant whisperer Vandalla Bhalla (Kavi Ladnier), given a week to turn a homicidal pachyderm’s life around before local authorities take an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Written several years before Be A Good Little Widow and The Cake put playwright Brunstetter’s name on the theatrical map, Miss Lilly Gets Boned has the This Is Us producer/writer biting off more than she can entirely chew (the play’s final ten minutes may have audience members wondering what the bejesus Brunstteter’s getting at), but its individual elements work so well, I can’t really complain.

At the very least, the questions Miss Lilly Gets Boned raises—science vs. faith, romantic fantasy vs. reality, man’s inhumanity to man and beast, and our own animalistic capacity for violence—are likely to prompt plenty of post-performance reflection as will its sudden bursts of magic realism, always a tough trick to pull off.

Under Robin Larsen’s incisive, imaginative direction, an all-around splendid cast walk the comedic-dramatic tightrope with finesse beginning with Oleynik’s radiant star turn (one that matches her powerful work in Be A Good Little Widow’s L.A. Premiere a few years back) as a woman whose faith in God is every bit as strong as her conviction that someday her Hugh Grant will come.

Ames nails her sexy bad-girl-next-door role with abundant sunny blonde charm, Nazemzadeh (the actor formerly known as Ethan Rains) is suave, seductive sophistication personified, Amaya reveals legit dramatic chops as a child reeling from a double loss, Ladnier’s warm, caring Vandalla is another winner as well, and newcomer Quinn’s standout cameo gives voice to a grieving soul.

As for Harold The Elephant himself, Quinn joins fellow puppeteers Rachael Caselli and Amir Levi in bringing Sean Cawelti’s design wizardry to remarkably authentic life.

Stephanie Kerley Schwartz’s adroit multi-locale set, Jocelyn Hublau Parker’s just-right costumes, Shen Heckel and Amanda Bierbauer’s assortment of props, Martha Carter subtle/dramatic lighting design, Christopher Moscatiello’s Africa-infused sound design, and Mark Royston’s charming shadow puppetry projected by Michelle Hanzelova create their own design wizardry as well.

Miss Lilly Gets Boned is produced by John Perrin Flynn and Andrew Carlberg. Amy Miller Gross and Edward King III are executive producers.

Joshua Chamberlain and Taylor Kass are assistant directors. Hollace Starr is dialect coach. Violence design is by Ned Mochel. Julia Garcia Combs is puppet coach. Christopher Breyer is dramaturg. David Mauer is technical director. Amanda Bierbauer and Ramon Valdez are stage managers.

Casting is by Victoria Hoffman. Nick Lee is Richard alternate.

Miss Lilly Gets Boned is the sixth Bekah Brunstetter play I’ve had the pleasure of seeing, and though not as perfect a work as her best, it captivated me from start to finish. Like her previous playwriting endeavors, I didn’t want to see it end.

Rogue Machine (in the Electric Lodge), 1416 Electric Ave. Venice.
www.roguemachinetheatre.com

–Steven Stanley
October 5, 2019
Photos: John Perrin Flynn

Tags: Bekah Brunstetter, Los Angeles Theater Review, Rogue Machine Theatre