Review: 'Stranger' at the Bootleg Theater

The best part of "Stranger," Eva Anderson's and Keythe Farley's musical send-up of spaghetti westerns, is the overpowering brass score inspired by Ennio Morricone. Loud and intentionally cheesy, the music (by Anthony Bollas) winks at us as it channels the soundtracks from "A Fistful of Dollars," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and a few other Sergio Leone classics.

Unfortunately, the rest of the show, at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, is a redundant parody of a genre that needs no help in generating laughs.

In a frontier town terrorized by lip-smacking Mexican bandits, a gunslinger with no name (Cameron Dye) leads the local population in an attempt to rescue one of their kidnapped citizens. Joining in the effort is the town madame, a shifty priest and (oddly) the ghosts of the gunslinger's slain family.

"Stranger" attempts to translate the ultra-violent, dust-and-sweat milieu of the spaghetti western to the stage but the results are awkward at best. Without the benefit of the cinematic close-up, this well-intentioned effort only partially succeeds at imitating the over-the-top and in-your-face style that is the genre's calling card.

The hard-working cast still manages to muster a few comic moments. As the Clint Eastwood stand-in, Dye is impressively square-jawed and stoic. And Ann Closs-Farley (who doubles as costume designer) plays the madame like she's preparing for the show's future Vegas incarnation.

-- David Ng

"Stranger," The Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sunday, June 21 and 28. $15-$25.  (213) 389-3856. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Photo: Ann Closs-Farley, Joe Hernandez-Kolski and Cameron Dye in "Stranger." Credit: Tim Ford

Comments

[Ryan]

Here we go again David Ng. Is this a template for you? 4 paragraphs on a redundant description and comment on the script and then a throw away final paragraph on the rest of the production. THE LA TIMES SHOULD HAVE HIGHER STANDARDS FOR THEATRE REVIEWING

[Anon]

I don't know what David Ng is talking about. Variety gave "Stranger" one of the best reviews I've ever read...

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940431.html?categoryid=33&cs=1

[bob]

I saw the play and I'd have to agree with the Variety Review. David Ng must have been in a bad mood when he saw the play or something.

This is my second Keythe Farley production I've seen and he never disappoints. The first was Bat Boy (The Musical).

I give it a big thumbs up.

[Western Fan]

Seems like David Ng just hates the genre. An ultra-violent, over-the-top and in-your-face genre that needs no help in generating laughs?

Also what makes him think the music is "intentionally cheesy"? I've seen the show and I think the music is a faithful and rousing take on the most famous period and style of Morricone's music.