STAGE REVIEW : “VIOLENCE”--A CARTOON WITH PUNCH

What a break for Spike Spangle. He gets to ride the Celebrity Space Shuttle as “the first farmer in space”--and just when he and his pregnant wife were about to lose their farm to the bank.

But watch out, Spike. The corporate bigwig behind the shuttle--Maximillion Enormous--is in cahoots with the Pentagon warlords. They plan to use your spacecraft as bait for the missiles of Mideast terrorists. Then, when the terrorists turn you into a martyr, Enormous and company will be free to unleash their latest mega-weapon.

Can Spike survive? Will war break out? Do we actually have a home-grown leftist cartoon show that outflanks the latest effort of the San Francisco Mime Troupe?

The answer to that third question is yes. The show is “Violence: The Misadventures of Spike Spangle, Farmer,” a production of The Actors Gang at the Wallenboyd.

The Gang has been known primarily for revivals, yet “Violence” reflects a keen interest in what’s happening now--and a boldness in projecting what might happen. True, the narrative exaggerates to the point of absurdity, but that’s what cartoonists do. They magnify in order to focus.

“Violence” could use even more focusing. It’s about a half-hour too long. In the first half, writers Tim Robbins and Adam Simon devote too much time to such secondary subjects as the medical establishment and the tightwads at the banks.

Nevertheless, the script skillfully weaves together a number of strands that might initially seem unrelated. And its subjects are so topical--not only the shuttle and Mideast terrorists but also such cultural icons as Sly Stallone and Robin Leach--that the speed and coherence of this production is all the more remarkable.

The Gang conceived “Violence” a couple of months ago. When Lebanon hostage Peter Kilburn was slain after the bombing of Libya, his nephew condemned the bombing and requested a national day of prayer. The Gang thought his statement should have received more attention. “Violence” is not about this incident, though; the only reference to it is when one of the generals says Mrs. Spangle could be “a Kilburn.”

Still, “Violence” viewers should be up on the news--and on current ad campaigns. For example, it helps to know that the Army ad slogan is “Be all that you can be” or that the soldier who died in the Berlin disco bombing was black. Out of such pieces of information and their own imaginations, Robbins and Simon created moments of remarkable acidity and other moments of surprising lyricism.

The performances, overseen by director Robbins, are crisper physically than vocally. But “Violence” sounds better as it goes along, aided by the raucous noises of the Gangland Orchestra (“instigated” by Hoagie K. Hill) as well as recorded television theme songs.

Ned Bellamy’s Spike is an ingenuous loser; the pallor of his makeup helps us see the loser as well as the ingenuousness. Lee Arenberg’s Enormous wears outfits (designer: Carolyn Krause) that reveal his brawn, while his face and voice indicate the wheels turning inside his brain; the combination is a knockout.

Kerry Armstrong is unexpectedly moving as Mrs. Spangle, who is somewhat smarter than her husband. She points out that individuals can say “no” to the powers that be, but she lacks the gumption to say it herself. The rest of the Gang plays several roles apiece; among the standouts are Jeremy Pivin’s Stallone and his menacing mime, and the baby-faced Mrs. Enormous of Marilyn Dodds Frank.

Xander Berkeley’s masks are properly venomous, and Paul Cutone’s lighting design is on the mark. Performances are at 301 S. Boyd St., Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., through Aug. 2; (213) 629-2205.