DOCTOR IS IN, BUT `SIDNEY' SYMPATHY LONG GONE.

Byline: Paul Hodgins Orange County Register

Theater is full of egotistical men destroyed by hubris, from Shakespeare's murderous Macbeth to Arthur Miller's delusional Willy Loman. In both cases, the playwright carefully leads us through the character's demise, showing us how good intentions gradually metamorphose into bad decisions under the malevolent guidance of self-importance.

We take no such journey with Philip Litwin, the doctor at the center of Stuart Flack's ``Sidney Bechet Killed a Man,'' which opened last week on South Coast Repertory's Second Stage.

As the play begins, Philip is on the brink of a long, messy demise. At 62, he's at the peak of his game - a heart surgeon with a worldwide reputation, his own clinic and a net income of almost $5 million per year. But Philip has a tragic flaw: He indulges his impulsiveness, and now the chickens have come home to roost. His risky investment choices have backfired, and he's ruined financially.

Flack has given us a cypher: an imperious, impetuous man whose god complex has grown huge because of his herculean talents as a surgeon. But beyond that, we can see no motivation for Philip's actions, no reason why a man so skilled and rational in his profession would turn into his opposite outside the operating room. Therein lies the heart of a fascinating character study, and Flack fails to probe it.

Tony Roberts' portrayal gives us no between-the-lines insight. His Philip is arid and remote; we can see little of the redeeming warmth or charm others attribute to him. And, in this production at least, Philip's dreams and obsessions provide no clues, although you sense they're meant to be illuminating. Philip has nightmares in which all of his patients die simultaneously; he reads ``Moby Dick'' over and over; he collects whale teeth; he plays jazz clarinet, admires the playing of the legendary Sidney Bechet and compares improvising to heart surgery. It's portentous symbolism, but it awards us no payoff - no ``aha!'' moment.

The result is a character for whom we harbor little sympathy. When the reason for his financial disaster finally is unveiled - it's the result of Philip's bad behavior, at the expense of close friends and family - the revelations eliminate any ambiguity we might feel. This is one hateable guy. Even so (and this is an indication of how serious the play's problems are), Philip's act of tragic impulsiveness comes as a complete, and utterly unbelievable surprise.

Flack's miscalculations reduce the play's themes to banalities: Good men are capable of bad things, and vice versa; we always pay for our mistakes. This story should offer much, much more.

Director Juliette Carrillo makes matters worse by emphasizing the coldness and lack of resonance in the writing. Characters talk at us, not to each other; they pace, sit on precarious-looking stools and seldom make eye contact; everyone stands at a distance from everyone else. Rachel Hauck's set commits the same sin. Smooth, machine-age and featureless, it looks like the interior of a spaceship. There's no sense of place - and we desperately need one.

Among the supporting actors, Hal Landon Jr. succumbs to the mood as Marcel, Philip's lawyer and best friend. Barbara Tarbuck seems more well-rounded and plausible as Philip's wife, Emily. As Philip's grandson, Gabe Wolpa injects some badly needed humanity into the evening. When Philip jokes with the lively little boy, everything comes alive.

One hopes Flack will see that as a big, flashing sign: Inject some spontaneity and spark into this airless creation, please! And make Philip more complex, believable and worthy of even a sliver of sympathy. At the very least, heart surgeons will be thankful.

THE FACTS

What: ``Sidney Bechet Killed a Man.''

Where: South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays; through Nov. 30.

Tickets: $28-$41. [phone].

Our rating: Two Stars.