‘Enter at Forest Lawn’: Theater Review

Mark Roberts’ extensive television credits include serving as executive producer and head writer for seven seasons of Two and a Half Men and as executive consultant on three seasons of The Big Bang Theory; he also created Mike and Molly, on which he served as executive producer for the first 70 episodes. So it’s no surprise that he knows something about the ins and outs of network sitcoms. What is surprising is that he’s so willing to bite the hand that feeds him with Enter at Forest Lawn, his new play receiving its world premiere by New York’s Amoralists Theatre Company. This viciously dark and profane comedy would seem to indicate that Roberts’ television experiences were not without rancor. Being presented by this daringly adventurous troupe as part of The Gyre, a two-play repertory “exploring man’s vicious cycles” that also includes Derek Ahonen’s The Qualification of Douglas Evans, the 70-minute one-act depicts the work travails of Jack Story (playwright Roberts), the producer of “the number one scripted show on network television, about to sell into syndication for two million per episode.” Threatening the deal is the drugs and hooker-infused, criminally debauched lifestyle of his lead actor, who plays the beloved main character.