‘Life X 3’ holds a mirror to itself as well as life

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The season-opening play at Malibu Stage Co. presents comically contrasting versions of how modern couples deal with an awkward social situation.

By Ward Lauren / Special to The Malibu Times

Part of the fun in seeing

“Life X 3,” the Malibu Stage Company’s season-opening production, is in watching three versions of an uncomfortable, mistimed dinner party that comes out differently each time. The play’s three scenes are funhouse-mirror images of each other, a repetition device something like Bill Murray’s movie “Groundhog Day,” although in this case it’s more like “Rashomon” meets “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

Henry and Sonia are having a difficult time with their six-year old son, Arnaud, as the play opens. Arnaud, who is only heard as an offstage whine, always at inappropriate times, alternately wants a cookie, a slice of apple, a story, a hug, to go to the bathroom, anything rather than going to sleep. But Henry has other problems.

An astrophysicist, he is about to publish his two years of scientific research on the flatness of galaxy halos. He needs to make a good impression on senior scientist Hubert Finidori, who holds the key to Henry’s promotion. But he has discovered that rival scientists from Mexico may have beaten him to publication with their own paper on the same subject, which would be disastrous to Henry’s career.

As Henry and Sonia, who is in her bathrobe, wrangle over the best way to quiet their son, Hubert and his wife, Inez, a fussy Brit who has just discovered, quite vocally, a run in her pantyhose, arrive at the door for dinner, a date which Henry and Sonia thought was on a totally different night. There is no food in the house except for a few chocolate sticks and an ample supply of Cheez-Its.

To this setup for a catastrophic evening the characters bring several facets of human personality and interaction that add to the potential for social fireworks. Among these are Hubert’s demeaning treatment of Inez, his lustful attention to Sonia, Inez’ low tolerance for alcohol, Sonia’s ambivalent attraction to Hubertt and Henry’s preoccupation with his galactic halos. The immortal line “Fasten your seatbelts” has never been more appropriate.

Except for the opening scene, which includes the introduction of Hubert and Inez as they approach their hosts’ apartment and Inez discovers the tragedy of her faulty pantyhose, all three versions of the evening begin the same. But as the story is played out in each one, different personality traits, reactions and interplay between the characters create a comically contrasting outcome to the situation each time.

In the first two scenes, for example, Sonia makes a mad dash for the bedroom to change into an acceptable dress when the unexpected guests show up. In the third version she remains in her robe in a good-natured display of self-confidence. Henry, a diffident, hand-wringing worry wart in scene one, accused by his wife of crawling in front of Hubert, progresses to a stage of laid-tback, devil-may-care joie de vivre by the third portrayal of the evening.

The obvious comic and dramatic possibilities presented by three contrasting treatments of the same problem are deftly handled by playwright Yasmina Reza in “Life X 3.” At the same time, the device is possibly responsible for some difficulty the playgoer has in getting to know the characters in depth. Some of the personality changes from scene to scene seemed arbitrary, with no supporting reasons. Perhaps this isn’t necessary, but it does result in making the viewer too conscious of watching a play on a stage rather than getting a sense of being privileged to sit in on a comic but humanly understandable situation with real people.

Despite these challenges, the cast was collectively up to the task. John F. Henry II, as Henry, ably made the greatest personality change of the four characters from scene to scene. Corey Volovar portrayed a confident Sonia, alternately berating or supporting her husband. As Hubert Finidori, Michael Bayouth, who as a total coincidence once appeared as a zombie in a Cheez-Its television commercial, grew progressively smarmy as he pursued his hostess. And Alison Lees-Taylor (Inez) subtly drew sympathy as a put-down wife despite her whiny complaints about her pantyhose.

Director Donald Reiker, in his inaugural production at the Malibu Stage Co., kept the action moving briskly from scene to scene. The play was produced by Jacqueline Bridgeman, who also handled graphic design. Technical personnel who combined to bring the show to the Malibu stage included Paula Post, stage manager; Julie Paar, costume design; Terence Davis, sound design; Austin Smith, lighting design; Oz, set design, and Oren Safdie, co-producer.

“Life X 3” will continue its run for three more weekends, closing on May 14. Performances begin at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday evenings, and 3 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets cost $20 and can be reserved by phone at 310.589.1998. The Malibu Stage Co. Theater is located at 29243 Pacific Coast Highway, just north of Heathercliff.