‘Cruelty’ With Humor

“Sure, we have a sperm and an egg doing a ballet,” says Gary Kroeger of the comedy revue “Mental Cruelty,” playing at the Tamarind Theatre in Hollywood. “But we do it with great conviction. We bring high-level integrity to low-level humor.”

“The Pas de Deux for Sperm and Egg” (in which three hearty males in long underwear, swim caps and goggles woo a fluttering ballerina) is one of many funny moments in the show, which takes on such diverse and timely targets as Mayor Tom Bradley, Ted Turner and Batman--and such creative subjects as the trials of the high- and low-waisted, a time-traveling philanderer, an existential fruit fly and a police lineup that resembles “The Dating Game.”

Prompted by a meeting last summer between Kroeger and friend-of-a-friend David Fury, “Mental Cruelty” marks the maiden production of Brain Trust West (an offshoot of the New York-based comedy group Brain Trust); it features five performers, four musicians and an eclectic collection of 23 sketches by 10 writers. Although Kroeger wears hats as performer, director and co-producer, “I’m not a control freak,” he says. “This is really a showcase for everyone as performers and writers.”

This weekend, the show goes on without Kroeger--who’s in New York, prepping for “Saturday Night Live’s” 15th anniversary reunion special, airing Sunday at 9 p.m. on NBC.

“I think ‘educational’ would be the operative word for my time there,” the actor says diplomatically of his 1982-85 stint. “And at times, thrilling. I don’t mean to sound jaded, but I was a young kid just out of Northwestern; I was used to friendly competition, mutual support. Then you go on ‘SNL’ and find out it’s 20 independent careers looking out for themselves. It really wasn’t until the third year that I started to feel like I was part of the show, a viable entity . . . and then it was over.”