Break of Noon, The

Fresh from a recent off-Broadway run, Break of Noon comes to L.A. in a smart, snappy production that features excellent acting and directing. The only questionable element is the play itself. Written by Neil LaBute, one of America's best, most prolific (and controversial) playwrights, Break of Noon focuses on John Smith (Kevin Anderson), a sinner who finds God.

Smith, we learn in an opening aria, is the sole survivor of shooting rampage by a fellow office-worker. A self-styled nobody and unworthy human being, Smith can't understand why he was spared -- and, more importantly, why he of all people heard the voice of God telling him to go forth and do good in the world.

Having never been religious, knowing his own flaws all too well (adultery, drinking, whoring), Smith is a conflicted and unlikely proselytizer for Christian redemption. Still, he does his best, seeking out not only his ex-wife (Catherine Dent) to try to win her over, but his favorite call-girl (Tracee Chimo). Hilarity and heartbreak are the result.

LaBute complicates things by giving Smith a greedy side: he's not above instructing his lawyer (John Earl Jelks) to exploit his story by selling it to a movie company. The media exposure turns him into a celebrity. A talk-show appearance follows, with Chimo parodying Barbara Walters as she grills Smith unmercifully and causes him to have an on-camera meltdown.

Break of Noon is essentially a series of confrontation scenes, bracketed by two monologues. In the final one, Smith speaks from a pulpit, having now become a TV evangelist. Is he sincere in his convictions, or is he just another religious hustler? LaBute makes it hard for the audience to decide, especially when he pulls a startling and confounding trick ending out of his playwright's hat.