'ESCAPE FROM HAPPINESS' PUTS IRONIC SPIN ON FAMILY VALUES.

Byline: Daryl H. Miller Daily News Theater Critic

"Escape From Happiness" is a play about drugs, pornography, theft, prostitution and general societal dysfunction. It is, in short, a family values play.

No, really.

Let me explain. The seriously strange family at the center of this story finds that its big-city neighborhood is in transition, with a dizzying array of illicit activities moving in next door. In various bumbling ways, they're trying to battle these outside forces. But in time, they learn that they need to get their own house in order - correcting years of destructive behavior and pulling together as a family again - before they can change the world.

It's a powerful, affirming message for all of us: If we can fulfill each other as families, lovers and friends, perhaps we won't prowl life's seedier side for gratification.

George F. Walker, one of Canada's foremost playwrights, relates this and much more in his wry, wicked comedy, which makes its Los Angeles debut in a riotously funny production by the Victory Bare Bones Ensemble at the Little Victory Theatre in Burbank.

We know things are seriously awry when the lights come up to reveal a beaten and bloodied man lying on the family's kitchen floor. He turns out to be Junior (Michael Waite), husband of the youngest daughter, Gail (Kristine Oller). When she and her mom, Nora (Eve Sigall), walk in and discover him, a strange tale begins to unfold.

The story twists and turns for two hours and 40 minutes, but the essential facts are these: Dad (Carl Strano), a former cop, left home several years before, after a reign of drunkenness, sullenness and abuse that nearly ended with his burning down the house with the family inside (a fact that takes on chilling overtones after the Glendale case of Jorjik Avanesian and his seven dead family members). Dad's behavior stunted the emotional development of his three now-grown daughters: Elizabeth (Teresa Greer), an aggressive attorney with a hair-trigger temper; Mary Ann (Randi Lynne Weidman), a nervous, blubbering mess who's trying to sort things out in therapy; and Gail, who's close to normal but may or may not have married a career criminal. As for Mom, well ... let's just say her mental state isn't as clear as it could be.

Dad's back home now, although he's dying and has lost his memory. (Or is that just a ruse?) Mom refuses to acknowledge him, preferring to believe he's just a helpless stranger that Gail brought in off the streets. Then there's Junior, a rail-thin, weak-willed man who's forever whining or on the verge of tears. He seems harmless enough, but the bickering police officers investigating his beating (Catherine Hadsock and Tom Ormeny, playing out a different sort of dysfunctional relationship) say he's bad news. When they find two big garbage bags full of drugs hidden in the basement, the plot thickens.

Oh, yes, and then there are the blundering father and son pornographers (Richard Reicheg and Tirzio Siletti) who break into the house to retrieve goods they were bilked out of.

As these lives intersect, the story touches on such hot-button issues as crime, police brutality, racism, sexual identity, therapy, the sanctity of the family and, specifically, this family's blind, scared flight in the opposite direction whenever happiness seems headed their way. It's provocative stuff, though perhaps too much to tackle in one play.

Under the direction of acting coach Maria Gobetti, the performances are uniformly hysterical. Watch especially for Dad/Strano's hilarious routine when, in a mental fog, he munches saltines at the kitchen table, with more crumbs spilling out of his mouth than going down his throat.

THE FACTS

The show: "Escape From Happiness."

Where: Little Victory Theatre, 3324 W. Victory Blvd., Burbank.

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays; indefinitely.

Running time: Two hours, 40 minutes; one intermission.

Tickets: $17, available by calling [phone].

Our rating: Three Stars.

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PHOTO

Photo The group dynamics of a dysfunctional family, including Dad (Carl Strano) and well-intentioned daughter Gail (Kristine Oller), are explored in the comedy "Escape From Happiness."