STAGE REVIEW : Amateurish ‘Cheaters’ Never Wins in Stanton Production : A third-rate TV show could not be more predictable than this sex farce. And some of the performances suffer from directorial neglect.

“Cheaters” is a talky sexual farce about infidelity. The most striking feature of this dated and formulaic comedy is that the principal couples are both incontestably middle-aged, which is a refreshing change from the Youth Cult of current popular entertainment. Otherwise, Stanton Community Theater’s production is so bad that it is funny in its ineptitude.

The script by Michael Jacobs is greatly to blame. A third-rate TV show could not be more predictable than “Cheaters.” By the middle of the first act, anyone who has ever vegged out in front of the boob tube knows exactly where this story is going.

The surprises of the evening are in the staging. Characters who have exited suddenly reappear crossing through the set on their way offstage. Actors who are offstage are often very visible. Some of the set changes are longer than the scenes. The bumbling is so pervasive that it is almost endearing.

Director John Craig, who appears in the production as well, seems to have spread himself a little too thin. Although the four principal cast members are repeating their roles from Stanton’s 1985 production of this play, the scenes are formless and disjointed.

In the role of Howard, Craig is an arrogant bully. As his voracious wife, Monica, Lorraine McWilliams is vivacious in an overripe way, at her comic best when her appetites cause her to burst into throaty song. Alice Holton, as the saintly Grace, is a sweet and simple foil for McWilliams. And Jay Conklin, who turns in the most consistently believable performance, has one wonderful little moment of abandon when he does a striptease.

Lissa Mirand and Michael Carothers, playing a young couple who are hesitatingly en route to marital bliss, suffer from directorial neglect. Mirand is taking the whole thing as seriously as if she were playing in a soap opera. Carothers’ performance is so lifeless that one wonders if he knows what sex is.

‘Cheaters’

A Stanton Community Theater presentation of the Michael Jacobs comedy. Directed by John Craig. With Lorraine McWilliams, John Craig, Jay Conklin, Alice Holton, Lissa Mirand, and Michael Carothers. Technical direction by Brin Williams. Performances Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. through Sept. 14 at the Stanton Cultural Arts Building, 11081 Cedar St., Stanton. Tickets: $5 (general), $4 (senior citizens). (714) 828-0843.