Fine Performances Help ‘White Chicks’ Sit Well

During the intermission at the Hollywood Playhouse’s mid-1980s production of “A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking,” playwright John Ford Noonan was heard approaching audience members, asking, “Isn’t this a great play? It’s really a good play.”

Noonan’s best-known work isn’t a great play; it’s a very ordinary play, filled with feats of illogic. Knowledgeable direction and honest performances, though, can make it look a lot better.

That’s what happens in the revival of Noonan’s comedy at the Theatre District in Costa Mesa. Director Mario Lescot and his actresses provide enough insight and individuality to make the play work.

Maude is a neglected homemaker in the tony village of Fox Hollow in New York’s Westchester County. Her husband, Tyler, is on another of his frequent business trips with his secretary. Maude doesn’t mind because he will, as usual, return to their nest ready to revive their yuppie marriage.

But this time Tyler has a surprise. He’s not coming back, and Maude’s rotten day is made worse by an unwelcome visitor. Hannah and her husband, Carl Joe, have just moved into the neighborhood, and Hannah needs a friend. The fireworks between down-home Hannah and hip Maude are immediate, but rest assured they will become bosom buddies.

Noonan once said in an interview that he wrote plays by deciding on the characters and letting them talk until they were finished. That’s the effect of “Coupla White Chicks,” and it’s the honesty of the conversation that keeps this production gliding over its lack of depth and often goofy reasoning. Lescot seems aware of this and provides each scene with rhythms and shape that keep it alive.

Christi Sweeney’s slightly starchy surface in the beginning is just right for Maude before she is deserted by Tyler and horrified by Hannah’s Texas-fried aggressiveness. In a subtle and gratifying transition, Sweeney gently tempers her Maude into a feeling woman in need of comfort.

Hannah is a one-note character, buoyant and brash, but Alice Ensor fills her out with interesting detail and shadings beyond what Noonan has written. Her Texas accent is true, and there isn’t a moment when she’s not totally the pushy Hannah hiding a sweet, loving person inside.

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* “A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking,” Theatre District, 2930 Bristol St., Suite C-106, Costa Mesa. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday. $15-$20. Ends July 18. (714) 435-4043. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Christi Sweeney: Maude

Alice Ensor: Hannah

A Theatre District production of John Ford Noonan’s comedy. Directed by Mario Lescot. Scenic design: Two Blue Chairs. Lighting design: Extended Visions. Sound design: Ron Castro. Stage manager: Mitzi Schabel.