Angie’s Coffeehouse, “a magical place where folks can work out their problems,” is the setting for Art Shulman’s I Got Troubles!, now in a world premiere run at Crown City Theater in North Hollywood. Shulman, a veteran L.A. playwright/director, is known for his warm-hearted, upbeat dramas, and he doesn’t depart from formula this time around. No matter how many problems beset his eleven characters—everything ranging from cancer to low self-esteem to loneliness—help and hope are always on the way, courtesy of Angie (Amanda Donelan), the owner and chief cheerleader of the mythical coffeehouse. Even the perky, effervescent Angie has a spot of bother in her own life, a yen for Joe (Casey Hunter), a hunky and successful young businessman who drops by the coffeehouse for the first time. The single and unattached Angie really digs him—until she learns that he runs a poultry factory, a no-no for a vegan, animal-loving person like herself. With principles like that, how could she possibly let herself fall in love with a carnivore? Although I Got Troubles! is a play without a dramatic spine, a strong, mounting central conflict that drives the action and creates urgency and suspense, Shulman’s skill at creating sympathetic and raffish characters is such that he manages to connect in a strong way with the audience. The writer/director is also helped by the efforts of his large, enthusiastic, multi-ethnic cast, and by the work of his set designer, J. Kent Inasy, who has contributed a large, charmingy set replete with a poet’s corner and wall paintings courtesy of Shulman’s wife, Rebecca Westberg.
