Capsule Reviews

Godfellas. The Rev. De Love, the sinful soul preacher in San Francisco Mime Troupe's new religious doctrineÐthemed show, is heaven-bent on spreading the word of God to every corner of the land. Behind the scenes at a "Rock the Lord Crusade" concert "to reclaim California for God and honor 9/11," Love (Michael Gene Sullivan) and his dastardly gang of spiritual desperados concoct a plan to rid the country once and for all of the tiresome separation of church and state. The religious right might be an easy target for the Mime Troupe, but far from blandly reflecting the atheistic, left-wing mindset of its core audience, the team behind Godfellas manages, for a change, to make us think. The wisecracking text and pithy musical numbers (co-written by Sullivan with Jon Brooks, Eugenie Chan, and Christian Cagigal, who also acts) crackle with irreverence in the hands of the multifaceted ensemble cast. Meanwhile, moments of cartoonlike surrealism, such as the sudden appearance through a trapdoor of 18th-century intellectual Thomas Paine and his contemporary, Thomas Jefferson, adds a wacky dimension to the religious nuts' maniacal proselytizing. Showing spiritually skeptical liberals to be as misguided as religious zealots, the troupe delivers its message about dogma without being dogmatic. Through Oct. 1 at various locations throughout Northern California. Tickets are free; call 285-1717 or visit www.sfmt.org. (Chloe Veltman) Reviewed July 19.

Hunter Gatherers. When Richard and Pam, a middle-class, urban married couple in their mid-30s, prepare for a dinner party with their friends Tom and Wendy by slaughtering livestock on the living room carpet, human civilization looks dangerously like it's about to have the rug pulled from under its feet. What begins as an elegant soiree — featuring a menu of stuffed mushrooms, fine wines, and the freshest lamb ever tasted within the corrugated steel walls of a split-level San Francisco loft apartment — gradually erodes into a primeval bone-dance of homoerotic wrestling, violent passions, and animal sacrifice. The rules that govern modern-day living soon cease to apply, as playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's Gen-Xers are forced to turn to their most basic instincts in order to survive. Much of the animal force and flinty wit of Killing My Lobster's world-premiere production stems from watching actors Melanie Case, John Kovacevich, Alexis Lezin, and Jon Wolanske, as Nachtrieb's hapless city-dwellers, negotiate the tension between the yo-yoing civilized and primitive impulses of their characters. As sophisticated in its worldview as it is barbaric in its energy, Nachtrieb's riotous comedy shows that the distance between 21st-century city slickers and Paleolithic cave-dwellers might not be so great after all. Through Sept. 3 at Thick House, 1695 18th St. (between Arkansas and De Haro), S.F. Tickets are $20-25; call 558-7721 or visit www.killingmylobster.com. (Chloe Veltman) Reviewed July 5.

The Mary Magdalene Story. Apparently Mother Teresa plays the albums of local composer, performer, and playwright Katie Ketchum in her healing centers throughout India. Ketchum's last solo show, about American painter Mary Cassatt, received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. These facts certainly give her lots of holy — and theatrical — cred. So it would appear to make divine sense that Ketchum would have spent the last 23 years translating The Gospel of Mary of Magdala into this solo play, even if the result is wacky and poorly executed. Centered on a '50s rockabilly singer named Marlene who's rehearsing her band to spread the message of love while receiving sacred nightly visitations, Ketchum's performance feels as if she were a rebellious nun throwing a Sunday school singalong in the church basement. She has a beautiful voice, and there are some charming moments (such as when Ketchum reads from a copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Mary Magdalene), but a good directorial eye is lacking. This production is perhaps ideally suited to a cabaret setting rather than Shotwell Studio's dance space, so that audiences could better heed Ketchum's lyrical advice: "Bring the water; we'll turn it into wine. ... Let's party!" Ultimately, there are too many awkward transitions and bizarre moments — like her out-of-nowhere goth-styled dance number, set to prerecorded rap lyrics railing against women being treated as "doormats" for 2,000 years because Magdalene was incorrectly labeled a prostitute. As Ketchum sings (and we scratch our heads): "Please find it in your heart to hug a ho today." Through Aug. 23 at Shotwell Studios, 3252 19th St. (at Shotwell), S.F. Tickets are $10-20; call 289-2000 or visit www.ftloose.org. (Nathaniel Eaton) Reviewed Aug. 9.