STAGE REVIEW : The Crazies Immerse Themselves in Orange Crush : There are enough laughs in the new revue--which often pokes fun at the county--to make up for the skits that fall short.

The Orange County Crazies are back on the boards with a new comedy revue, “Don’t Cry for Me, Orangentina.” It climbs above the smile line into the belly-laugh stratosphere often enough to transcend the uneven quality of this new collection of sketches and songs.

“Orangentina,” at the Westminster Cultural Arts Center, features a 16-member company comprised equally of Crazies veterans and debutantes. Led, as ever, by the indefatigable Cherie Kerr, the performers look for laughs in a wide variety of material, much of it geared to Orange County locales, concerns and personalities, demonstrating once again that there are funny thoughts aplenty germinating in the fertile ridiculousness within Orange County.

Unfortunately, some of the skits stop short at the funny thought, particularly in the overlong first act. Although the springboard ideas are clever, the jokes themselves are too often slightly askew regurgitations of overworked sitcom humor.

Even such less-successful vignettes, however, are kept afloat by the performers’ sheer desire to please; occasionally they are exalted by some inspired detail such as Ron Ruhman’s Droughtman costume, an exuberant marriage of super-hero and geek, complete with a strategically hung plunger.

And the bits that do take off really soar. Act one closes with LizAnne as Betsy Braille, blind hostess of a cooking-by-feel show in which the laughs and the food fly fast and furious.

The second act offers the highlight of the evening: Bob Harker as a Disneyland recruiter a la Adolf Hitler. Harker, wearing mouse ears and mustache, and his assistant Tinkerschnell (Gretchen Stahl) mobilize the audience to hilarious effect.

Improvisations fueled by audience suggestions showcase the quick wits, singing talents and unique personalities of this burgeoning troupe. Those talents hold promises not always fulfilled in “Don’t Cry for Me, Orangentina,” but just often enough, the laughs are big enough to take you all the way home.

‘Don’t Cry for Me, Orangentina’

An Orange County Crazies presentation of an original musical revue. Produced and directed by Cherie Kerr. Written by the Orange County Crazies. With Suzette Coger, Cindy Corbin, Drake Doremus, Rich Flin, Greg Hammond, Bob Harker, Lauri Johnson, Anji Limon, LizAnne, Eric Mabbott, Jerry Mabbott, Troy Nelsen, Ron Ruhman, Annette Slusarenko, Gretchen Stahl, Dan Weston, Michelle Weingarden and Ted Bishop on keyboards. Technical director: Ron Schryer. Musical director: Ronn Canzano. Performances at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 and 30 and Dec. 14 at the Westminster Cultural Arts Center, 7571 Westminster Blvd., Westminster. Tickets: $12.50 in advance, $15 at the door. (714) 840-1406.