Rib-tickling revival of 'Auntie Mame'

Say your community theater group wanted to revive an old comedy classic with a sizable cast. You could do far worse than blow the dust off "Auntie Mame." Just don't let your backstage volunteers know right away what'll be expected of them.

"Auntie Mame," the biographical saga that inspired the musical version that cemented Angela Lansbury's place in entertainment history, remains a very enjoyable piece of theater. To present it in all its scenic glory, however, is a technical nightmare, one with which the Huntington Beach Playhouse has its hands full. Intricate set and costume changes demand rather large chunks of empty stage time.

Once the bulky set pieces are in place, however, the large company, under the direction of Allison Bibicoff, turns in a quite presentable production, turning back the clock to the late 1920s, when original author Patrick Dennis was 10 years old and being ushered into the care of his rather bohemian aunt — his only living relative — whose philosophy on life, to recall Herb Gardner's words in "A Thousand Clowns," fell somewhere to the left of "whoopee."

Most actresses would commit mayhem to snag the "Auntie" role, and Rose London — who's already impressed playhouse audiences this year in "Moon Over Buffalo" — makes it her own. London accomplishes with sly asides and gestures what Rosalind Russell did more outrageously on the screen. London's Mame is a beautifully etched portrait of a carefree lady who truly believes that "life is a banquet and most poor SOBs are starving to death."

As her boozing bosom buddy, Broadway actress Vera Charles, Dawn Vasco also eschews the theatrical for the more down-to-earth — and accessible — portrayal, landing verbal zingers repeatedly. And Cole Fletcher is simply terrific as young Patrick, erudite and assured far beyond his tender years.

"Auntie Mame" and its musical cousin contain a relatively small character role that, in the right hands, can steal the show — the nerdy transcriber Agnes Gooch, and Norma Jean Riddick is an absolute howl as she undergoes a "My Fair Lady" transformation in five minutes and a more defining lifestyle alteration during the next nine months.