Lauren Weedman just wants to get out of her own head and do some good for humankind. Which is easier said than done, she discovers.
In her solo show, Bust, playing at Studio Theatre through December 18, the Los Angeles–based actor/comedian/writer spins a wry, frenetic, addictively watchable tale about her decision to volunteer at the Los Angeles County Jail, and how it proved a far heavier-duty gig than she’d envisioned.
She demonstrates equal gifts for comedy and straight-up acting under director Allison Narver’s kinetic staging, which never gets so busy that Weedman can’t finish a thought or a look.
Weedman takes us with her on a Dante-esque descent into the LA jail and, after six months or so, emerges a little bit changed and having won grudging respect from both jailers and prisoners. On her trip through that Inferno, Weedman is very much herself, yet she also stands in for the rest of us 21st-century, Internet-bred, all-about-me Americans. She’s nervous, lacking in self-confidence and impulse control. She wants to do good, but is unsure whether she can forget herself long enough to manage it.
So, it seems, there’s hope for us all.