STAGE REVIEW : Stupid ‘Second Lady’ Won’t Win Laughs

“The Second Lady,” Jack Sharkey’s comedy now being staged by Pandava Productions at the Curtis Theatre, is a political satire so cynical and boring it deserves to be impeached.

Sharkey presents Andrew Wright (Douglas Stauter), a photogenic presidential candidate with the brainpower of a minor-league Dan Quayle. His unbelievably manipulative campaign manager, Chuck (Glenn Noborio), decides Andrew needs a wife to ensure victory.

The only trouble is that Andrew has already promised himself to Bertha (Joanne Underwood), a monstrous woman who appears on the scene like a carnival sideshow freak. Don’t ask why he’s supposed to marry her; it’s too stupid and complicated to go into.

Anyway, while Chuck tries to extricate Andrew from that mess, he involves pretty Veronica (Lynn Daly) in another one, mainly becoming Andrew’s fiancee. Veronica looks good, and besides, she’s pretty snappy at a press conference.

After agreeing to the charade, Veronica helps Andrew out of a jam by answering a reporter’s tough question. Her performance is so impressive that she becomes the country’s favorite vice presidential candidate literally overnight. That’s the sort of brainless plot development that engines this farce.

Needless to say, hijinks abound, leading to a “surprise” ending that makes about as much sense as the rest of the play.

There’s certainly room for mockery of the exploitation of the American voter and press, but Sharkey does nothing but push the usual buttons. Chuck sets up self-serving press meetings, and he and Andrew devise strategy on how to deceive everybody. It’s all more distasteful than clever.

Even the big gags are groaners, like the one that keeps getting repeated about the dopey Secret Service agents who shoot at people when they hear the password Mayday , or anything that sounds like it.

As for director Scott Aguilar’s cast, Stauter can be a decent actor, as can be Barbara Chartier as Chuck’s level-headed assistant. The material consistently does them in, though. And Noborio’s Chuck is just too sleazy to be interesting beyond the initial take.

‘THE SECOND LADY’

A Pandava Production of Jack Sharkey’s comedy. Directed by Scott Aguilar. With Glenn Noborio, Barbara Chartier, Franis James, Douglas Stauter, Joanne Underwood, Lynn Daly and McCullon Smith. Lighting by Janet Song. Sound by Steve T. Salazar. Plays Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Curtis Theatre in the Brea Civic Center, 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea. Tickets: $9 to $12. (714) 990-7722.