Ginny Wakely's acting career is about to take a dive: People is bringing out an expose on her that includes troubling sex and drug revelations she'd prefer stayed hidden. To save her family from some of the impending shame, she flies back to Texas to tell them before the magazine does.

The things that prevented me from fully enjoying this production can all be laid at the feet of playwright Lee Murphy. First: celebrity-worshipping glossy People doesn't publish exposes. That's Enquirer territory. No big deal, but that laziness with details bleeds
into her plot-line: Murphy piles on the conflict, setting us up for how each individual family member's going to react, but then never follows through with it. Ginny's final confrontation-what little there is--is ho-hum at best, anti-climactic at worst. The several set-ups call for a bang, all we get is a few whimpers.

 The play is still funny and very entertaining, regardless of its plot letdowns; a credit to Murphy's dynamite dialogue and the work of director Richard Hochberg. His masterful direction is perfectly balanced throughout and his largely female cast precisely delivers the comic and emotional goods. Precious Chong plays Ginny like a deer in the headlights, but embues her with enough gutsy toughness that we understand why she'd humiliate herself for the love of her family. As her sister Margaret-Ann, Gail Godown walks away with the show; she can rip a laugh out of you just in the way she eats a bag of Cheez- Puffs.  As their religious fanatic mother, Laurel Lockhart never condescends, giving Virginia dignity that extends beyond the born-again hyperbole.

 Praise to Set Designer Sean McMullen: His knick-knacks, sliding glass, over-grown fireplaces and wood paneling easily transports us back to the early 80s. It's a work of art.

International City Theatre at Long Beach City College, Clark St. & Harvey
Way, Long Beach, (562) 938-4128. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. Thru
Nov. 15. $19-$22.

t2k