Patriotic Bitch

*** 1/2 This wonderful one-woman show stars the very versatile and dynamic actress Alanna Ubach, who portrays six different characters ranging from a Latina homeless person to an uptight newscaster. She captivates the audience from beginning to end.

This is a play that accomplishes a rare feat for a one-woman show—it keeps things moving almost the entire time and also has a nice variety of moods and characters without using props or elaborate sets or any filler. Patriotic calls to mind Lily Tomlin’s Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe and Gilda. The text of the show (written by Ubach and Ian McCrudden—who also directed) has a similar narration device to Search: a wise, sassy street person. The writing is especially insightful and while the through-line is a bit thin at times, ostensibly all the characters here are dealing with their own issues in our current, turbulent society—influenced by the racially/politically heated times post 9/11.

Some of the characters are more successful than others, though Ubach is consistently hilarious. The woman that sells bandanas is a great creation—but we don’t really need to see her so often. The last main character is actually the most serious—a Persian woman dealing with bulimia and abortion. And while we admire the intensity in this performance, it might be better to have one of the zanier people come back at the end to leave things on a brighter note—especially the butch lesbian aerobics instructor. This scene is a riot, and watching this character (complete with hairy underarms and a masculinity that makes Rosie O’Donnell seem like a sorority girl) is a true joy.

Patriotic could be expanded to a greater length. McCrudden has directed his actor with amazing specificity and creativity. To those people that only know Ubach as Marsha’s lesbian suitor in Brady Bunch or as Reese Witherspoon’s sassy friend in Legally Blonde, see this play and witness her real range and talent.

Patriotic Bitch is at Stages, 1540 N. McCadden Pl., through the end of August (Thursdays and Fridays), (323) 465-1010.