The Highs and The Lohs

Theater Review

Reviewed by BARRY BLITZER, Palisadian-Post Columnist She’s Sandra Tsing Loh, writer-performer and vivacious daughter of a Chinese father and German mother. She’s also a self-described former sane person who became a parent’which furnishes the humorous, if somewhat risqu’, rants delivered during her solo performance at the 24th Street Theater in downtown Los Angeles. This controversial celebrity first appeared on stage, emerging from a blazing, fiery backdrop that very possibly could be hell. Dressed in black tights and a sarong, Loh launched into a uninhibited dance which could best be described as either erotic, psychotic or, giving her the benefit of the doubt, a unique way to stay in shape. Things improved decidedly during the next 75 minutes; Loh frantically paced the stage, while telling about attempts to place their son in a recommended Van Nuys preschool environment with high test scores. Despite having lived in the area for years, there were countless stumbling blocks, the most irritating wait listing. Palisadian parents can easily relate to Loh’s desperate visits to parochial schools, then to progressive private ones with their tuitions ranging from $14,000 to $27,000. Or as she put it, “if your kid skipped sixth grade, you could feed an entire village in Rwanda.” According to her, rumors regarding a magnet school’s student achievement scores were traded by anxious young parents, like blind men groping for an elephant. Other desperate endeavors involved transferring to the highly rated Malibu school district, where her widower Chinese dad occupied an upscale townhouse; the downside was he didn’t invite the family to move in with him; he presumably was too busy driving along PCH flirting with female bicycle riders. Understandably, this made Sandra more frustrated than ever. Perhaps this could be one of the reasons for her well-publicized use of the F-word (that cost her a job on KCRW). She apparently survived and is currently heard on a competing station while also contributing to the Atlantic Monthly. Her performance also makes clever use of off-stage voices and humorous special effects. While vividly describing the hopes of parents like herself for their children’s future success in college, Ivy League banners swiftly unfurl from the ceiling: Yale, Harvard, Princeton’LEXUS! Incidentally, co-directors David Schweizer and Bart DeLorenzo should be acclaimed for their inventive staging. A word about the aforementioned 24th Street Theater that’s merely a hop, skip and jump from USC. The theater itself is old and comparable to Hollywood’s “Off Broadway” showcases; however it’s air conditioned and the 99 seats all have good sight lines and, better yet, there’s plenty of leg room. There’s free and secured parking directly opposite the theater, too. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 3 and 7 p.m. Most of the shows have been sold out, which is why “Mother On Fire” has been extended indefinitely. You’ll laugh, you’ll cringe, and more than likely advise friends and relatives not to miss seeing this multi-talented, provocative solo performer’that is, before she’s confined. Contact: (213) 745-6516.