Fear, Loathing in Troubled ‘Magdalena Bay’

The 24th Street Theatre’s first production is both promising and disappointing. “The Music of Magdalena Bay” is poorly written, lacking both credibility and tension. Yet as a multimedia event, there are glimmers of inspiration that the Glorious Repertory Theatre Company should continue to nurture.

The time is 1999 and an ambitious Los Angeles television anchorwoman, Beth Anderson (Gay Storm), feels threatened by the emerging Latino population. Her son Justin (Chris Bandasch) speaks Spanish at home to the family housekeeper Luz (Chi Chi Navarro), and Beth loses her job to a Latina. Out of both desperation and ambition, Beth resorts to questionable journalistic practices that result in tragedy.

Although the script--by Jan Johnson, director Debbie Devine and the company--attempts to describe growing anxiety over changing demographics, the characters and the plotting defy plausibility.

Devine elicits only two-dimensional performances from her cast and cannot create the foreboding atmosphere that might give this presentation some much-needed suspense.

On the plus side, the multimedia aspects of the production, including the music and the interaction of slides and actors, show great promise.

* “The Music of Magdalena Bay,” 24th Street Theatre, 1117 W. 24th St., North University Park. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 and 7 p.m. Ends June 16. $10. (213) 658-4050. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.