Room Service

As farces go, this 73-year-old chestnut relies more on plot twists and character studies than on mere door-slamming and mistaken identities. There's a fair share of the latter too, but playwrights Allen Boretz—who helped on the Marx Brothers' film adaptation of this script—and John Murray crafted a more satisfying piece that challenges the mind's ability to keep up with a deeply detailed storyline. The outcome of their work, featuring a bankrupt troupe of thespians hanging on by their fingertips in a New York hotel while trying desperately to finance and stage a historical epic titled "Godspeed," is a fast-paced production that induces smiles more than broad belly laughs.

Co-directors Bjørn Johnson and Ron Orbach, each of whom on the night reviewed stepped into roles normally played by a single cast member, maintain the proceedings at a heady clip, as their company of 13 rides a roller coaster of machinations and split-second timing. Nowhere is this more evident than in the work of Derek Manson, playing the group's harried director. Manson brings a crisp, never-down-for-long air to what might otherwise be just bellowing histrionics. Besides, that trait is on ample display thanks to the hilarious performance of Charles Dennis as the hotel's accounting auditor who has discovered the horrendously overdue bill owed by this theatrical band.

Dennis' character, reminiscent of Gale Gordon's Theodore J. Mooney, is a bubbling cauldron capable of volcanically comic eruptions. Meanwhile, Dennis' sidekicks, played expertly by Joe Liss and Daniel Escobar, seamlessly conspire to keep Dennis in the dark. Additionally valuable assets are Phillip William Brock as Manson's brother-in-law who is the hotel's manager, Dustin Eastman as the play's cute-as-a button, wide-eyed author, and Laetitia Leon as Manson's Girl Friday/love interest, a role made famous by Lucille Ball in the screen version.

Victoria Profitt's single-set hotel room withstands a relatively physical performance from all involved, while Jason Mullen's lighting and Peter Carlstedt's sound design are adequately supportive. Costuming by A. Jeffrey Schoenberg and Kristen Shaw's hair design are the highlights of the designs in this enjoyable romp.

Presented by and at the Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A. Jan. 21–Mar. 12. Fri.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. (323) 882-6912. www.openfist.org.