More Info:

TAMPA - There's something about thick New York accents in the Stageworks production of "Lobby Hero" that dredges up the city's gritty underbelly.

In this black comedy written by Kenneth Lonergan, you can almost smell the stink of dirty subways - but in a good way.

Four uniformed characters meet in the lobby of a Manhattan high-rise apartment building. Jeff (Curtis Belz) is a young security guard manning the graveyard shift. After goofing off for years, he's just starting to get his life together.

His black supervisor, William (Joshua Goff), is self-righteous but hard-working, and he holds his employee to the same standards.

Their relationship is mutually beneficial because William lives to impart wisdom to others while Jeff craves mentoring as he ventures into the adult world.

Bill (Steve Du Mouchel) is a seasoned city cop and has waited seven years to turn detective. He works nights with his rookie partner, Dawn (Cael Barkman), who greatly admires him and subsequently falls in love.

From the beginning, it's clear that Bill, though a well-respected officer of the law, has no problem setting aside ethics for pleasure.

When William discovers his brother has been arrested for murder, he confides to Jeff that he has been asked to fake his brother's alibi.

William's integrity is put to the test. He knows his brother is guilty but wrestles with his sense of family loyalty and defiance of racial inequalities in the prison system.

Meanwhile, Bill brings Dawn to the apartment building under the guise of meeting a friend. While she waits in the lobby with Jeff, he reveals that Bill is actually making his usual social call to a popular lady tenant.

He also leaks to Dawn that William lied to police to keep his brother out of jail.

Despite his good intentions (some might say heroic), Jeff is now considered a rat. His honesty wrecks each character's carefully crafted facade.

Du Mouchel is terrific as Bill. He has a "Sopranos" thug demeanor with a touch of Ralph Kramden that makes his skanky character endearing.

Barkman is equally likable as Dawn. She nails a flat Brooklyn accent - which for some reason makes her lines even funnier - and strikes a fine balance portraying a vulnerable girl trying to prove she's tough.

Belz as Jeff is a perfect wisenheimer. He's sarcastic and comical, like the class clown, without caricaturizing himself.

The performances would be seamless if Goff embraced his role more consistently. His finest moments are the emotional ones, and at his best it's clear that he is well-cast. But in calmer scenes he seems to distance himself, as though distracted, thinking about his next line.

Richard Coppinger's clean direction and a moody cover of Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows" put the final polish on this excellent production.

THEATER REVIEW
Lobby Hero

WHEN: Through Sept. 23; 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Shimberg Playhouse, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa

HOW MUCH: $24.50; (813) 229-7827