Solo Survivor

Aspiring actress Jerri Manthey, 30, was tougher than overcooked barramundi on ''Survivor'' (Thursdays at 8 p.m. on CBS), but her hard nosed attitude didn't pay off quite the way she'd hoped. Since getting booted by her irritated teammates, she's become one of the most loathed villains in TV history, right up there with ''Dynasty'''s Alexis Carrington. CBS.com's poll of best loved castaways ranks Manthey dead last, far behind annoying chicken lover Kimmi and gruff prison guard Debb.

Of course, in Hollywood, Manthey's sharklike maneuvering is as everyday as laser eyelifts. How to stand out? Choose one of literature's most revered works: ''Macbeth.'' Okay, so the former army brat's current gig is a comedic take on Shakespeare's tragedy, but Manthey does have a starring role in ''Lady Macbeth Gets a Divorce,'' and it could be the part that bumps her from late night joke to legitimate actress. That is, if anyone actually sees it.

The shoe box sized Beverly Hills Playhouse is only half full on Easter Sunday, and most of the senior citizen crowd seems oblivious to Manthey's notoriety. The program bio is no help, omitting any reference to the actress' notorious stint on TV's top rated reality show; one of her few credits is a tiny role on Showtime's ''That Championship Season.'' But the small crowd is quickly treated to a taste of Manthey's island antics, since her character, Dilly, shares more than a few of the Machiavellian attributes the red headed minx displayed down under. A starlet wannabe, Dilly hopes to coerce her seventysomething sugar daddy, Duncan, into putting a ring on her finger and a movie credit in her resume. Predictably, the well laid plan goes awry: Duncan signs her up for a porno flick.

Manthey naturally handles Dilly's coy manipulation of Duncan with ease. (Think back to her ''Survivor'' outing with Colby on the Great Barrier Reef, and you get the picture.) And she brings some much needed spunk to what could have been a thankless bimbo role; the take charge attitude and can do pluck that bugged the crap out of her Ogakor teammates at least provides a distraction from the truly awful dialogue and rampant misogyny of this featherweight farce. (Indeed, the part's various indignities make eating mangrove worms look appealing.)

Of course, the conniving Manthey playing a bimbo is about as believable as Arnold Schwarzenegger in a Merchant Ivory film. Yet that might just be her saving grace here. Bouncing and preening her way across the stage in Pucci pants and a feather boa, Manthey is too smart to act stupid, and her performance hints at actual talent. In her final scene, when Duncan dumps Dilly for his even more manipulative daughter in law, Manthey's tough girl facade crumbles, and in a brief and affecting moment, you see real promise. Too bad she couldn't muster a little more of that vulnerability in Australia. She might still be on the island.

Though Manthey is the most memorable thing about ''Lady Macbeth'' (and she's only in half the play -- the rest concerns a husband and wife out to swindle Duncan), it doesn't look like this performance will be her big break. After the play had ended, the most hated ''Survivor'' poignantly lugged her small black suitcase down Robertson Boulevard, alone. So much for legendary TV villain: Alexis would NEVER carry her own luggage.

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