HERALDING 'HAROLD AND MAUDE' ELLEN GEER SHINES, BLACK HUMOR REMAINS INTACT IN CULT FILM'S THEATRICAL REBIRTH.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

If the Internet sites are to be believed, fans of the 1971 film ``Harold and Maude'' are of the firm opinion that screenwriter Colin Higgins and director Hal Ashby put the ``cult'' in culture. It's these fans who will cling to the images of Ruth Gordon zipping cheerfully off in a car stolen from a priest or flinging birdseed out the window of her railway boxcar dwelling.

Still, even the most devout Harold-ian will likely be startled at the deftness with which Ellen Geer puts her stamp on the role of Maude. Kooky, wise and ultimately quite sad, Geer's Maude is without question the best reason to see the staged revival of ``Harold and Maude'' at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga.

Would that director Heidi Helen Davis could bring the rest of the production to Geer's level on a more consistent basis. ``Harold'' is a longish evening that careens from the blackest of black humor to near slapstick, ultimately to warm and fuzzy sentiments of life affirmation. In its twisted little way, the movie gradually revealed a light at the end of its gloom. The play takes that light and practically blinds us with it.

It may seem unfair to compare the two versions, but, amazingly, the same author is responsible for both. Perhaps realizing that this tale would be a harder sell to theatergoers than to the cinema set, Higgins smoothed out ``Harold and Maude's'' jagged edges in the play, and his story suffers for it. Instead of a couple of eccentrics trying to carve out their space during some rather turbulent times, the Theatricum's ``Harold and Maude'' bears an uncomfortable similarity to the exploits of Auntie Mame. Not only does Maude steal cars, we're now expected to believe that an 80-year-old woman, working alone, successfully heists seals from the zoo. C'mon!

The basic story is unchanged. To the great consternation of his upper-crust mum, young Harold Chasen (played by Aaron Angello) spends his days either devising wildly inventive suicide attempts or attending funerals. At one such event, he encounters Maude, a free-spirited near-octogenarian who doesn't simply dance to her own orchestra, she conducts it and plays all the instruments. Irony abounds: As Maude stares down her own mortality, she teaches the morbidly obsessed Harold what it means to live. He thinks he's found his soul mate; now, if only the poor kid could do something about these computer dating service encounters his mother (Susan Angelo) keeps arranging ...

Angello's Harold is nicely low-key, a quietly dark young man, better at reflecting and reacting. He doesn't hint at the pain the character might be masking, but he doesn't really need to. Hidden pain and dark secrets are Maude's turf.

There are few local stages more bucolic than the outdoor, tree-bedecked Theatricum, and none better-suited for a fresh-out-of-the-'60s tale like ``Harold and Maude.'' Set designer Thomas A. Brown neatly divides the stage between the more stately Chasen Manor and Maude's split-level bohemian digs (complete with paintings, sculpture and gong.) And at this theater, when a scene is set in a tree, it is bloody well going to take place in a tree.

The space doesn't, however, lend itself particularly well to the gross- out special effects that are Harold's forte. A couple of the set-ups seem to take forever to push into gear. Others are simply forced: Do we really need two off-stage gun shots before Harold emerges to chop off his hand in front of a date?

Tight, this production isn't, and you can easily spot places where Davis' cast seems to be straining against the dramatic dead weight of Higgins' script. A subplot involving Maude and a persecuting cop quickly gets tiresome, as do the numerous exchanges between Mrs. Chasen (played to near mental pitch by Angelo) and Harold's psychiatrist. Similarly, a visit between Maude and Mrs. Chasen is nothing but an occasion for cheap laughs.

Fortunately, the evening has more than a few comic gems as well. All three of Harold's dates get big laughs, the largest coming from Willow Geer-Alsop as a hammy actress who gets a little too involved in one of Harold's ... er ... scenes. (Geer-Alsop shares the role with Abby Craden).

Finally, there's Geer. Handling an important Austrian accent, and looking younger than Maude says she is (also appropriate), Geer dances, sings, listens and counsels - all with the dignity that this wonderfully unique character is charged to uphold. That dignity will forever be Ruth Gordon's legacy. Now it's Geer's as well.

The facts

--What: ``Harold and Maude.''

--Where: Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd.

--When: 8 p.m. Saturdays through July 22; 7:30 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 19; 4 p.m. Sundays Sept. 9-30.

--Tickets: $11 to $20. Call [phone].

--Our rating: Two and one half stars.

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Photo:

Aaron Angello and Ellen Geer co-star in the quirky love story of a younger man and a much older woman in ``Harold and Maude,'' now on stage at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum.