The Love Boat

In Chris Bell’s new and perversely romantic comedy “The Swan Ride,” at Actors’ Gang ElCentro, four sets of dysfunctional couples confront and contemplate their problems in a decrepit tunnel of love. The time period isn’t clearly delineated, but Ann Closs-Farley’s costume design leans toward the 1950s and a pre-Elvis innocence in a place called Trolleytown, Ohio.

A swan-shaped boat (propelled by its designer, Johanna Nemeth, as wide-eyed cupid) makes its leisurely way through what was once the mermaid grotto, represented by Bell’s puce-colored faux rocks. The mermaids are gone--already sold and claimed because this is the last day of the ride’s operation. Bell’s set doesn’t include real water, and the one boat, which runs on a visible track, represents six such vehicles. But with adept timing and quirky characters, it works.

Redneck cowboy wannabe Tom (Jason Reed) and his tightly spandex-squeezed, college-educated girlfriend Mary (Elizabeth Tobias) are the squabbling first couple. Jealous Tom, who didn’t attend college, has found an old photo of Mary with Roger D (Gary Kelley) from their university days with neither wearing many clothes. Straw-haired Roger D worships Mary, much to the chagrin of his current girlfriend, the nerdish, nervous Wendy (Jenine Smith).

High school sweethearts Eddie (Ray Mickshaw) and Willow (Clare Wren) are the supposedly happy couple in their preppy perkiness. Eddie spearheaded the futile fight to save this historical amusement park and has a special affection for and terror of the swan ride.

Roger B (Andrew Wheeler) is the only person in the history of Trolleytown to earn a PhD, making him both a curiosity and a source of hometown pride. His current flame, Dee (Gillian Marloth), is a free spirit who wonders what their future holds, but the fumbling, stuttering Roger B has qualms about how she’ll look socializing with his intellectual peers.

Although the play isn’t particularly deep or philosophical, under Bell’s direction, the characters are compelling. They fuss about the past and reveal their inner thoughts in brief soliloquies. They fight, break up, reconcile or regroup.

Bell’s script could teeter on sappiness, but he adds a touch of playful horror to this lovers’ retreat. In the dark, dank caves, a corpse may be floating.

Nemeth’s smirking and smiling cupid and Reed’s braggart Tom have a slight whiff of camp, and Brian Finney’s old, white-faced ride attendant, Mr. McNeal, has more than a little. But this adds more humor to this 90-minute tribute to the mysteries of love and small-town claustrophobia.

BE THERE

“The Swan Ride,” Actors’ Gang El Centro, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Ends March 4. $12. (323) 465-0566. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.