The remarkable Ian Barford commands the stage in his role as Wheeler, a burnt-out but likable grouch, in Tracy Lett’s new comedy, Linda Vista, now in an L.A. premiere at the Mark Taper Forum, under the direction of Dexter Bullard. Letts, Barford, and Bullard are longtime members of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater, where Linda Vista was first performed two years ago. Five of the six other actors in the play were also in the original production, which accounts for the polished and skillful acting on display at the Taper. Wheeler is a soon-to-be-divorced 50-year-old misanthrope who has just relocated to the Linda Vista apartment complex in San Diego. Once a professional photographer, he is now content to repair cameras in a tiny shop owned by a fat sleazeball named Michael (Troy West) and managed by Anita (Caroline Neff), a working-class gal who favors jeans and tight T-shirts. Wheeler not only has his eye on her but on his hippie-chick neighbor Minnie (Chantal Thuy, the only local cast-member) and on Jules (Cora Vander Broek), a “life coach” to whom he’s been introduced by his sidekick Paul (Tim Hopper). The latter is married to Margaret (Sally Murphy), an old friend from college days (and his severest critic). Wheeler is a serial-lover of these women. They fall, to one degree or another, for his scruffy charm and glib patter, only to be betrayed by him—and, ultimately, to get their revenge. What’s funny about his sexual escapades? Well, for one, there are a couple of bawdy bed scenes (played in the nude) which could have come out of Rabelais. But mostly it’s Wheeler’s rants and raves about the modern world which garner the most laughs. His favorite (and most hated) targets are Trump, karaoke, rock groups like Queen and Coldplay, Elvis, movies made after the 80s, and restaurants that “serve foam.” Wheeler is also depressive, humble and self-deprecating: he concludes just about every story he tells about himself with this aside: “And then he was humiliated.” Bullard’s deft direction and Todd Rosenthal’s revolving set keep the action flowing seamlessly, but the play is mostly a character study, a portrait of a 21st-century anti-hero, a guy who can’t stop hurting other people and himself, no matter how many times he apologizes.
