"POT MOM" SHOWS FAMILY'S LOWS - AND HIGHS.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

We come to you from Salinas, where Patty and Michelle, both on the longer side of 40, are smoking away the final hours of the final weekend before Patty returns to the work force. A joint is consumed. Followed by a bong. The air is rich with an awfully authentic weed-y aroma. The conversation, cheerily vulgar and bouncing crazily across matters trivial and substantial, suggests that these two ladies have been sitting on this beat-up couch having this kind of interaction for years.

And in a way they have. Ellen Ratner (as Patty) and Laurie Metcalf (as Michelle) originated these same roles when Justin Tanner's "Pot Mom" opened at the Cast Theater in 1994. Tanner's subversive urban comedies tend to hook actors who stay very loyal.

Little surprise that, with a resident company in place at Burbank's Third Street Theatre, L.A.'s poet laureate of disrepute could entice his original leading ladies (and leading man Jon Palmer) back for a "Pot Mom" reunion.

Tanner directs again. The production is a riot.

The darkest of domestic comedies, "Pot Mom" deliciously depicts a family too stoned and self-absorbed to realize how deeply in crisis they actually are. Patty's live-in boyfriend Richard (Palmer) drives a truck, and grows pot in a backyard greenhouse that he deals to the neighborhood stoner musicians.

Patty's three kids are a trio of belligerent slackers who can't stand Richard, but don't want to sacrifice access to his stash.

Caught in the middle is Patty, who loves Richard, has few illusions about her brood and could do with a little independence from everybody. Best friend Michelle, who is tight with Patty's younger daughter Lorraine (Taylor Hanyok) is always underfoot. And I do mean always.

Tanner's dialogue and the upfront, take-no-prisoners meanness of his characters is the production's draw. The play is a crazy quilt of put-downs, confrontations, ill-advised hook-ups, all surrounded by a "You Can't Take It With You" scenario that has straight-arrow Lorraine trying to get accepted into a snooty prep school.

Ratner's world-weary Patty, a lady who can't really afford delusions, and Palmer's all-business Richard make for a winning trailer-trashy pair. You forget how good former "Roseanne" star (and Steppenwolf Theatre alumna) Metcalf routinely is until you see her unleash a drunk scene like the one Tanner gives Michelle.

All in all, a very funny show that is engagingly acted. You might even leave the theater with a contact high.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

POT MOM - Three and one half stars

Where: Third Stage Theatre, 2811 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank.

When: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; through April 1.

Tickets: $20. Call [phone].

In a nutshell: Family crisis is demented and hilarious in Justin Tanner-land.

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Photo:

Laurie Metcalf, left, and Ellen Ratner are a hit as they share conversation and a stash in ``Pot Mom'' at Third Stage Theatre, a revival of Justin Tanner's subversive comedy.