PRESENTING THE WAGS AMONG DIRTY DOGS.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

Don't be misled by the railroad trestles that plow across the Evidence Room's stage at a 45-degree angle, or the harsh, vaguely bluegrass score that jangles between scenes. True, ``Dog Mouth'' deals with hobos, trains and legends, but playwright John Steppling uses these elements to create a kind of anti-folk tale. In some measure, this is also a play about the ways we live up to the celebrity we create.

However it's labeled, ``Dog Mouth'' - co-produced by the Evidence Room and Padua Playwrights Productions - is a haunting and often disturbing experience. Which is what Steppling, also the production's director, clearly intends it to be. He peoples his landscape with grungy philosophers, low-rent types who talk a lot, scheme a little and avoid the flashlights of local authorities. They take amphetamines and hop trains across the Mojave Desert. When the fates deal them dirt, they shrug it off. Because these people ... simply ... don't ... care.

Their leader, so to speak, is Terry, called Dog Mouth (played by Steppling regular Stephen Davies) because of his history with fighting dogs. World weary in an angry kind of way, Dog Mouth, 55, is traveling with Nyah (Nia Gwynne), a

love-struck waif half his age who is carrying his child. She worships him; he treats her appallingly. He's a wanted man and a celebrity - rumor has it he killed a man. Plus, he's been interviewed on TV.

Dog Mouth wants a man taken care of, and his lieutenant Becker (James Storm) is more than willing to do the deed. While Becker is taking care of business, Dog Mouth and Nyah make for Phoenix, so that he can ``see a man about a dog'' and she can have her baby. She hopes he'll decide to be some kind of father. We know that won't happen.

Not much actually transpires in ``Dog Mouth.'' A series of encounters take place alongside railroad tracks (designed with gravel-strewn exactitude by Jason Adams) leading off into a three-paneled desert landscape. Here Dog Mouth, Nyah, Becker and Weeks (Hugh Dane) discuss life, fate and morality. ``Mankind's a giant lukewarm casserole waiting to be thrown into a trash bag,'' is Weeks' assessment. These hobos could be contemporary descendents of Beckett's Vladimir and Estragon - waiting in a kind of wasteland for something to arrive. Dog Mouth's train does come, but he's no better off at the next stop down the line.

Any premiere by ex-Angeleno Steppling - who developed several plays through the former Padua Hills Playwrights Workshop - is something of an event. The Evidence/Padua production is ``Dog Mouth's'' American premiere and the first time a Steppling play has been seen in Los Angeles in almost a decade. All the necessary ingredients are in place for the work to sizzle. Davies and Gwynne have played these roles before, in London. Storm and Dane also have mastered the Steppling rhythm and tone.

Steppling's misanthropic rants can get a little long-winded, especially when Davies gets particularly fired up about something. Still, ``Dog Mouth'' has a lot on its grim little mind, and the moment when the play's title character comes face to face with his own celebrity carries an appropriate impact.

So, for that matter, does the play.

``DOG MOUTH''

Where: Evidence Room, 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles.

When: 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday; through Feb. 17.

Tickets: $20. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three stars

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Photo:

James Storm, left, and Stephen Davies sit on the wrong side of the tracks in ``Dog Mouth.''