New Tragedy Visited Upon Anne Frank

Imagine the tragic story of Anne Frank after it has been put through the wringer of the television development process and distorted into a sitcom.

It’s a fiercely irreverent, potentially funny concept meant to send up the absurdities of a notably absurd medium. Unfortunately, apart from a few chuckles and a couple of well-observed characters, Betsy Salkind largely squanders her comic opportunities in her one-woman show, “Anne Frank Superstar: The Ethel Spiliotes Story,” at the Powerhouse.

A stand-up comic with television writing credits and an engaging stage persona, Salkind seems the logical person to essay this kind of risky material. However, this over-short and underdeveloped show, which has been directed by Jeff Marcus, with additional writing by Becky Neiman, runs just a shade over a half-hour--including the five-minute final segment in which Salkind, dressed in a squirrel suit, furiously nibbles a matzo.

Add to that the abrasive character of Ethel, a blatantly derivative little brat poured from the Edith Ann mold, and the proceedings begin to collapse in upon themselves, reminding us not so much of a superstar, but of a black hole.

* “Anne Frank Superstar: The Ethel Spiliotes Story,” Powerhouse, 3116 2nd St., Santa Monica. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Dark May 6. Ends May 20. $6. (310) 396-3680. Running time: 35 minutes.