The Golden State

Greed and lust provided playwrights with good comedy material for centuries, and this irreverent play “reinvents” Molière's 1668 classic The Miser. Playwright Lauren Wilson (who's trained as a circus performer and lives in Humboldt County) transfers the story to Southern California, land of palm trees and rampant materialism, where it seems everyone is on the make. And, being from the realm of redwoods, the playwright finds plenty of tempting targets to skewer.

Wilson spices the original's bawdiness by including both gay and straight relationships, and also throws in references to cocaine, immigration, deportation and blazing summer wildfires threatening expensive hillside homes. Gertrude, a greedy widow approaching 60 (Linda Montalvo), is determined to ditch her unemployable adult offspring so she can wed a younger Latino boyfriend (Dann Mead) who's caught her fancy. But not only is the Latino boyfriend living in his car, he's also having a fling with Gertrude's 30-something son Cubby (Paj Crank).

Meanwhile, daughter Sylvia (Lisa Derthick) is tempted to elope with gardener Luis (Ernesto Bustos), who is actually a college-educated professional from Chile, though Gertrude presumes he's an illiterate Mexican. And saucy housemaids Blanca (supposedly Cuban, played by Julie Anchor) and Ursula (purportedly Ukrainian, played by Katie Hulse) dish dirt about Gertrude and her crazy kids. The superannuated Bunny (Susan Madden, as a rich Viennese dowager seeking a younger man) adds color to the final scene.

It's a well-executed rowdy romp (replete with wild accents), and some of the jabbing social satire has a sharp political edge.