Review: HELL MOUTH at The Road Theatre

While The Road Theatre Company has been producing bold projects since 1991, it doesn’t seem to have broken through the public consciousness of Angelenos as much as it should have. The collective’s goal to bring “social and/or politically relevant voices to the American stage” has been hit time and again, and the best part is that this has been done entertainingly, with the latest production, HELL MOUTH, another in that winning line of smart and engaging works thanks to a smart script by Tom Jacobson and tight yet empathetic direction from Ann Hearn Tobolowsky.

Jacobson, a Los Angeles institution, consistently crafts compelling narratives that push boundaries, revealing truths about the complexities of humanity. HELL MOUTH, his fifth collaboration with the Road, centers on Tim (Danny Lee Gomez), an art historian who is both visiting his ailing father, Russell (Tony Abatemarco), and overwhelmed mother, Lois (Taylor Gilbert), in his hometown of Oklahoma City, while also coordinating an acquisition with his art dealer friend Samara (also Gilbert) back in L.A., by wooing wealthy and ostentatious Spencer (also Abatemarco), who may or may not have a missing Caravaggio, leading Tim down a precarious path to possible madness.

With topics like religion, death, and grief, Jacobson’s dramedy is heavy and also more grounded, less surreal than some of his other works. Tim’s world is relatable — the contrast between the homespun Midwestern-ness of Tim’s childhood and the flamboyance and pretentiousness of both Hollywood and the art world are particularly identifiable to this boy from Michigan — and it is heightened to a particularly sharp point by double-casting Gilbert, the founder and artistic director of the Road, and Abatemarco. They both deliver powerhouse performances, demonstrating stunning versatility, fully dissolving into each role, broad when necessary, and intimate when necessary. I didn’t even realize they were the same actors until I checked my program at intermission. Gomez has a tricky role, balancing both the broad and the intimate as the same character, but don’t we all do that? We’re the same person but also vastly different when around our parents and when we’re out in the world, and that's Tim’s struggle: how to maneuver his way through adulthood, grappling with his obligations at “home” and his needs to prove himself as a man on his own without losing himself.

The scenic design by Mark Mendelson is spare and, aided by the moody lighting design by Derrick McDaniel and effective projection design by Nicholas Santiago, it subtly mutates the experience until the flames of hell seem to be alight before we even know it. Tobolowsky navigates this all with a steady hand, never allowing the extravagance to overpower the quieter moments of power. It’s a tricky tightrope, but she maneuvers it well. The star of the show, in the end, is the script, leading us toward the titular rHELL MOUTH through five well-drawn characters and their existential crises that mirror our own. This is another stellar production from The Road Theatre Company.

Photo credits: Robert Sturdevant