STAGE REVIEW : ‘They’: Solid Premise, Shaky Execution

The entitled “They” at Actors Alley Too are the unknown purveyors of the whispers that kill careers and throw governments off kilter, as programmed by cynical, high-paid rumormongers.

Playwright David C. Field’s Faustian tale enjoys a solid premise and is certainly timely. But the tone is so cynical and the style so broad that the show, under Raul Clayton Staggs’ clumpy direction, has the look of a cartoon.

John P. Donovan’s nice-guy-turned-immoral-hack who redeems his soul, and Elliott Goldway’s venal huckster are good actors and Gary Byron and Lauren Roedy are the vivid TV anchors named Ken and Barbie who bounce in and out of the action. But most of the 12-member cast is mired in a sophomoric show, epitomized by Goldway’s life-sized doll/porno fantasies. They wear awfully thin.

* “They,” Actors Alley Repertory, 12135 Riverside Drive, North Hollywood, Mondays-Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Ends Feb. 19. Free (donations requested); (818) 508-4200. Running time: 2 hours.