Theatre Review: MATTHEW MODINE SAVES THE ALPACAS

Geffen Playhouse's most recent celebrity-drenched theatre production, "Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas," has a generous marketing campaign but seems to have skimped on the actual play construction. Written by playwrighting neophyte Blair Singer, the script is hailed as a parody on celebrity activism, with Matthew Modine (Full Metal Jacket, Weeds) entrusting PR guru Whimberly North (Peri Gilpin of Frasier fame) to transform his career from washed-up stoner/theatre actor to A-List heartthrob through an act of highly publicized activism. Featuring fornicating alpaca puppets, an offensively costumed tribe from Mt. Chimbarazo, and a fully-carpeted set, the random kookiness hints at comedy while fully embracing shallow, and at times tedious, inaction. The play's one saving grace, Whimberly's gay assistant Jeffrey (played sharply by 3rd Rock from the Sun's French Stewart), hardly has a moment to shine before a deus ex machina reveals his character to be just as poorly sketched as the rest. With a concept that could have wittily and intelligently commented on activism, celebrity, and the perpetual desire to reinvent oneself, Matthew Modine leaves even audience members hip to the excessive industry inside jokes wishing they'd saved their admission price for a more worthy cause.