oppenheimerpeoplewheel J. Robert Oppenheimer was quite a character. And since he was at ground zero in the truly epic story of the development of the atomic bomb, Carson Kreitzer’s choice of subject for The Lovesong of J. Robert Oppenheimer is a good one.

Tying that subject into J. Alfred Prufrock, though, is a bit questionable. Prufrock, after all, is an aging man who considers the scope of his life and finds it less than grand—hardly a consideration Oppenheimer would have had. “Do I dare disturb the universe?” Prufrock asks himself. The point is, Prufrock knows his question is ironic; about all he can dare do is eat a peach and walk along the beach. Oppenheimer was burdened with the knowledge that he did disturb the universe. It’s a poor parallel.

Which is not to say this here Lovesong is a poor play. And to be sure, Cal Rep works it for about as much as it’s worth.

If you know the connected stories of the Manhattan Project and the postwar McCarthyism in which Oppenheimer became embroiled, you can guess at about half of what you’ll see on stage in Lovesong. The other half is in the telling, which largely centers on Lilith, a Jewish mythological demon said to have been the first woman and who, for the purposes of this play, bears orgasmic witness to the horrors of humanity. The surreal subtext seems to have Lilith in Oppenheimer’s psyche, since Oppenheimer has released such destructive power upon the world. “Do it again,” she exhorts, “do it again, do it again.”

Cecily Overman’s Lilith is a more playful and ambulatory analog of Jessica Lange’s Death character in All That Jazz, climbing all over the impressive steel set (more on that anon) and on Oppenheimer, himself. It’s an exuberant performance that plays well with Craig Anton’s Oppenheimer’s intellectual froideur, giddily embodying the torment that lies just beneath. She’s an attractive devil, and dance with her he does.

Director Joanne Gordon has given her good cast all the right moves, including blocking the play with literal depth. Impressively complementing all this nuanced movement is a superior lighting arrangement (heavily automated, I presume) by Ronan Kilkelly. oppenheimermetalstage

And then there’s Jeff Eisenmann’s stage, all scaffolding and grillwork and a cyclotron mandala, with compartments for water and sand that provide for arresting moments of detail.

But as lovely as it is to behold, it may be even more impressive as a percussion instrument, which Overman and Anton (et al., occasionally) play to chilling effect. A rhythmically retarding bit of coitus is a particular high point here.

If there’s a problem, it may be in the pacing. Act One seems chock full, and I wasn’t so sure the play hadn’t ended right there (having missed the bit in the program that says Lovesong is two acts). Act Two opens with an Edward Teller monolog that’s impressive and fun in the hands of Christopher Shaw, but plot-wise the remainder of the play drifts along with not quite enough wind in its sails, giving us the sense that Kreitzer may not have been as inspired by Oppenheimer’s denouement than he was by “the father of the atomic bomb” at the height of his powers. And while blowing your load on the A-bomb is understandable, it’s not an excuse for weakness in your dramatic arc.

Still, not a bad play—and one that radiates energy in Cal Rep’s lab at the Queen Mary.

THE LOVESONG OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER CALIFORNIA REPERTORY CO. • THE ROYAL THEATRE ABOARD THE QUEEN MARY (1126 QUEENS HWY) • LONG BEACH 90802 • 562.985.5526 CALREP.ORG • TUES-SAT 8PM, EXCEPT IT’S 6PM OCT. 6-8 AND 13-15 • $15–$20 (PARKING $6–$8—BUT YOU CAN TAKE THE PASSPORT FOR FREE) • THROUGH OCTOBER 15