LOS ANGELES -- How does a good man become a Nazi? The question lies at the heart of Good, C.P. Taylor's play with music which opens at Theatre West on May 29 for a six-week run. Norman Cohen is the director.

In Good, a German who aspires to be a good man not only joins the Nazi party but becomes the architect of the Holocaust, none of which bodes well for the man's Jewish best friend. The betrayal of the German professor's marriage parallels the abandonment of his former ideals.

Taylor grew up Jewish in the Great Britain of World War One. He said, "It still seems there are lessons to be learned if we can examine the atrocities of the Third Reich as the result of the infinite complexity of contemporary human society, and not a simple conspiracy of criminals and psychopaths."

Cohen, who directed the acclaimed Broadway production of A Woman of Independent Means starring Barbara Rush, said "Good is a musical comedy about Everyman. Tragic, comic and musical elements combine to form a picture, a mirror, held up to expose our own possibilities of being seduced by evil."

Cast members include Jim Beaver, Randy Brown, Ivan Curry, Liz DuVall, Bruce Liberty, Ursula Martin, Kevin McMahon and Margaret Muse. The musical director is Armin Hoffman. Theatre West is at 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. Performances are Fri. & Sat at 8 PM; Sun. at 3 PM. Tickets are $15; students & seniors $12. Call (213) 851-7977.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent