"System Wonderland," South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, CA

David Wiener’s "System Wonderland," directed by David Emmes and given it’s world premier on South Coast Repertory’s Julianne Argyros Stage, reveals the compromises we must make with the passage of time.

The story outlines the consequences of the decision that a writer’s-blocked Jerry (Robert Desiderio) makes to hire Aaron (John Sloan), a young film school graduate, at the behest of a producer friend. Ostensibly Aaron’s there to perform Jerry’s dogsbody duties: typing, faxing, and armchair psychologist.

Aaron, however, complicates matters: he’s a talented and confident writer; he’s ambitious and will seemingly do anything to succeed; and he’s obsessed over Jerry's movie star wife Evelyn (Shannon Cochran) since he was a kid.

The powerful resolution reminds us of Hollywood’s Darwinian survival ethic: evolve or die. In the climactic moment Aaron shows that he does have some loyalty to Jerry, even as Jerry throttles him; but it’s Evelyn who goes behind her husband’s back.

The script is compelling and well-structured: it sets up the couple’s creative impotence with allusions to their prior golden days: their glamorous associates; their ready access to Hollywood dealmakers; and their Oscar that shines like a sunrise on the mantle.

These allusions to grandeur underscore the couple’s current fall from grace: Evelyn nostalgically watches film clips of her own performances; Jerry cannot put words on paper; and both are aware that their shelf life is about to expire.

Evelyn is a fascinating character whose complexity Cochran effortlessly captures. She is passionate and romantic though her zeal got her in trouble in her last project and effectively derailed their careers; she erases the line between her movie roles and her real life though she withers without a project upon which to work; and she wants to be Jerry’s muse but his creative sclerosis threatens the stability of the marriage.

Desiderio nails Jerry’s tacit realization that Aaron has replaced Evelyn as his inspiration. Desiderio’s piques of rage, his sullen silences, his quirky demands confirm his predicament: he’s under contract but can’t produce; he’s won an Oscar but can’t go higher than that; and he must sort out the motivations behind a talented, handsome, going-places assistant.

But if Evelyn and Jerry are the supportive columns of the play’s structure, then Aaron’s the decorated entablature. Sloan’s right on target with his character: he’s young in an industry that feeds on youth; he’s hungry in an industry that respects carnivores; he skirts between ambition and decency in an industry that rewards the former but pays lip service to the latter.

Myung Hee Cho’s set emphasized the ivory tower isolation of Jerry and Evelyn. She captured the modern decor that dated the couple; she captured the diurnal passage of time; and she captured the distance that separated the couple from Hollywood with that spectacular view of the ocean.

Performances are Tues – Sun, 7:45 p.m., Sat & Sun, 2 p.m. The show runs until May 13. Tickets are $20 – 60. The Theatre is located at 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. For more information call (714) 708-555 or visit www.scr.org.