STAGE REVIEWS : ‘WHERE’S CHARLEY?’ WINS ON NAIVETE

“Where’s Charley?” at Huntington Beach Playhouse turns out to be as silly and sweet as its premise: Two students at turn-of-the-century Oxford University decide that one of them must pose as a female chaperon in order to entertain young ladies in their dormitory room. Happily, director Kent Johnson has shaped a production that fits the innocent spirit of the farce like a snug pair of high-button shoes.

The 1948 Frank Loesser-George Abbott collaboration is a musical adaptation of the 1892 British comedy “Charley’s Aunt” by Brandon Thomas. The show’s score (highlighted by “Once in Love With Amy”) is as lightweight as the plot device, but musical director Tim Nelson and choreographer Kysa Cobb have contributed clever, compactly staged production numbers.

Johnson uses the playhouse’s small stage inventively, weaving set changes into musical numbers, spilling activity into the aisles and using the close proximity of the audience to play off observers at appropriate moments.

But not everything is done on a small scale. Greg Cohen’s portrayal of Charley Wykeham is very big, very physical, very heavy on the schtick and very funny. Cohen plays Charley as a hustler (and a bit of a stand-up comic), desperately trying to convince everyone that he is really his aunt at the same time that he is attempting to court his girlfriend, Amy.

It’s a choice that tends to fight the innocent tone the other three lead players milk to charming effect. Karen Angela makes a starry-eyed, spirited Amy, frosted with the blushing naivete of a sheltered Victorian girlhood. Melissa Swift and Greg Irwin are perfectly matched as the luminous young lovers, Kitty and Jack, in two strong performances that capture the show’s sweetness while gently spoofing it.

This revival gets a large boost from the chorus, which produces rich harmonies in numbers like “At the Red Rose Cotillion” and “The Gossips.” Jean Cole’s versatile period costume designs and Evelyn C. Canedy’s piano accompaniment also add much to the flavor of the production.

“Where’s Charley?” will play through Aug. 30 at Huntington Beach Playhouse, Seacliff Village, 2217 Main St., Huntington Beach. For information, call 832-1405.