Mordant musings of a poet-musician

"Image is nothing. Thirst is everything." What writer-performer Malcolm-Jamal Warner thirsts after is self-expression, which drives "Love & Other Social Issues" at the Assistance League Playhouse. If the contours of this poetry-jam session by the actor we saw grow up on "The Cosby Show" are sometimes sketchy, there is nothing ephemeral about Warner's riveting talent, or what he has to say.

"Love" begins casually, with a sizzling number by Warner's jazz-funk band Miles Long, in which he plays bass alongside Isaac Agyeman, Jeff Byrd, James "D.C." Wilson and L. Young. The dreadlocked star takes to the apron for his introductory gambit, "Babbling Insanity," and an unmistakable vibe of authenticity grabs the house.

Unfolding through three sections ˜ "Thoughts & Images," "Women" and "Transitions" ˜ the show reveals Warner as a gifted wordsmith with a ripe wit, lyrical acuity and sharp, un-PC intent. His interpretive technique is equally impressive. The comic chops are a given, but the intensity with which Warner assails the "never-ending cycle of black self-hate" displays mature range and depth.

And his immediacy ˜ whether slyly inviting a female attendee on stage for a romantic ode or bemoaning inner-city artists who betray their roots for bling ˜ is remarkable. This, together with the rocking fusion combo, leaves the last sitcom traces of Theo Huxtable in the suburban dust.

Occasionally, "Love" rambles a bit, the "Women" section nearly doubling back on itself. Interstitial moments might be tighter, and, even with Jonathan Klein's fine lighting, the staging recalls an unusually pert school assembly. Yet it allows director Denise Dowse to zero in on Warner's mordant musings, which is how this commanding poet-musician connects so incisively with us.

˜ David C. Nichols

"Love & Other Social Issues," Assistance League Playhouse, 1367 N. St. Andrews Place, Hollywood. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends July 1. $22.50-$37.50. (323) 960-7784. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.