Saturday

EACH DAY DIES WITH SLEEP Those with a taste for the distasteful will get their fill in Jose Rivera s 1990 play that plunges Ionesco and Sartre s cruel Abusrdism into the even colder depths of contemporary despair. Nelly (Karla Leticia Saldana), the middle child of 21 siblings, trapped in a grotesque house with a slovenly offstage mother and an abusive father (Adam Soriano), is reduced to animal instinct as she scrambles on her knees to alternately serve and castigate her abuser. After escaping the clutches of the family, she runs away to Los Angeles with beautiful Johnny (Jerry James), a mechanic and would-be fashion model who had impregnated most of Nelly s sisters.

California seems a godsend for the couple, but the paradise cracks as Nelly s brutal animalist instincts turn to kindness, which is her ultimate undoing. With unsparingly sharp direction, Kristal Greenlea gives Rivera s exciting turns of phrase and outlandish plot twists an affectionate and appropriately unpleasant production. Sound design by Matari 2600 and Yammi Swoot s lights are quite impressive given the primitive state of this small theater.

While the evening is horrifying, it s also moving and intoxicating. GARAGE THEATRE, 251 E. Seventh St.

, Long Beach; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.

m.; thru March 24. (866) 811-4111.

(Tom Provenzano) FEED While Jim Lunsford s new play retreads some familiar science fiction paths, his story of a future in which ordinary humans are sterilized to battle overpopulation is remarkably literate, expressing well-stated ideas from multiple perspectives. The structure is an old-fashioned courtroom drama that pits overly aggressive, macho public defender Cowboy (Robert W. Arbogast) against equally ambitious, effeminate prosecutor Keller (Paul Denniston) in a case against Sid (Andrea Lockhart) accused of illegally untying her tubes and giving birth to an unregulated offspring.

A central metaphor using Mount Vesuvius ancient destruction of Pompeii to illustrate the human drive for survival still needs development for relevancy, but the character relationships and dialogue are superbly wrought. James Mellon s intense directing style (his signature) magnifies each idea and sentiment through these emotionally tuned and well-trained actors. And though the proceedings step into melodrama, the story remains riveting.

Craig Siebels stark courtroom set frames the chilling legal action, while video projections by Tony Mark reveal whatever humanity that remains outside. NOHO ARTS CENTER, 11136 Magnolia Blvd., N.

Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat.

, 8 p.m.; Sun.

, 3 p.m.; thru March 11.

(818) 508-7101. (Tom Provenzano)
Crossover country-pop from some of only guys able to make it worthwhile.
MUSIC FROM A SPARKLING PLANET Hoagie (Chris Damiano), Miller (David Kaufman) and Wags (Michael Spellman) spend an evening at a bar testing each other on TV trivia from their pre-adolescent days, in Douglas Carter Beane's charming valentine to childhood hopes as remembered by three guys in their mid-30s who have lost their way.

The joyful recollection of local cartoon hostess Tamara Tomorrow (Kelly Lloyd) sends them on a trek to find out what happened to the long-ago kiddie-TV icon. Director Richard Israel s very light touch keeps this confection of a play engaging and enjoyable with actors who display artful truthfulness in their performances. West Coast Ensemble at LYRIC-HYPERION THEATER, 2106 Hyperion Ave.

, Silver Lake; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.

m.; Sun., 3 p.

m.; thru April 1. (800) 595-4849.

(TP)
The author presents and signs All Governments Lie: The Life and Tiimes of Rebel Journalist I.F. Stone.