‘Benchmark’ Reveals Odd Romanticizing

“I have this terrible habit of romanticizing reality,” says one character in John Benjamin Martin’s “Benchmark” at Zeitgeist Theatre. The habit is common in this quirky and awkward series of four one-acts, which do their best to romanticize homelessness, suicide, poetry and even transsexualism.

Lifting a page from Edward Albee’s “The Zoo Story”--the still-shocking 1960 story of a fall from grace in Central Park--Martin imagines a series of unlikely encounters one day on a nondescript park bench (nicely evoked in Sidney Wickersham’s verdant set).

A lovesick suitor (Edward Carnevale) desperately woos a born-again Christian (Jillian Twigger). A pompous writer of greeting cards (Boyd Holister) learns respect for a homeless poet (Peter Pyrko). A depressed woman (Ann Winkowski) falls in love with the hit man (Mark Mulligan) she hired to kill her. And--most outrageously--a bisexual woman (Maureen Muldoon) spurns a lover (Jill Greenwood) who underwent a sex-change operation to save their relationship.

These are high-concept plots, delivered with a sensibility more treacly than off-beat (e.g., it’s time to put the image of the noble, child-like homeless person to rest for good). Far from natural, Martin’s dialogue here feels written, constantly reminding viewers of the playwright’s all-too-visible hand.

Carnevale’s zesty, gritty turn is a standout among an otherwise bland ensemble. Four directors--Carol Doehring, Casey Kramer, Linda Martin and Wickersham--keep the production from having a unified voice and style.

* “Benchmark,” Zeitgeist Theatre, 2330 Sawtelle Blvd., West Los Angeles. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends July 29. $12. (310) 444-1867. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.