COMEDY REVIEW : Off to See the Wacky ‘Wizard’ : The Orange County Crazies lampoon life here quite admirably, despite their new home being no Emerald City in terms of hospitality.

The Orange County Crazies are inaugurating their new home in the city’s historic Pacific Symphony Building with a punchy new comedy revue called “The Wizard of Orange.” The performance space, cavernous and still unfinished, is decidedly inhospitable; the Crazies are anything but. Through sheer goodwill and gritty show-biz can-do, they manage to survive, if not vanquish, the obstacles.

The room, of which Crazies director Cherie Kerr has corralled a corner, well may become a beautiful space at some point, but right now it’s a very mixed blessing. With the acoustic dome not yet in place, the capacious air deadens sound like an oversized cotton ball. The playing area is shallow and rigid, forcing a repetitive line-’em-up staging, and adding nothing in the way of atmosphere. Seating for the audience consists of folding chairs on a flat floor; the view from the back row can’t very well be complete.

But those Crazies persevere, and laughs were peppered throughout a recent performance, even if no single skit triumphed unconditionally.

“Judy Garland” serves as our guide through 16 lampoons of modern life, Orange County style; she is played by Lauri Johnson, whose impression goes beyond successful mimicry into inebriated psychic chaos. Spouting snatches of signature Garland tunes as she tries to find her way out of “Irvineland,” Johnson captures an almost poignant bewilderment tempered by a jaded practicality. Her characterizations throughout the show are detailed and grounded in a reality that garners laughs and demonstrates a mature talent.

Although there’s absolutely no dead weight among the company of 12, Rich Flin is a standout this time around as, among others, an executive at a cutthroat meeting who cannot compete because his pen won’t open. Eric Halasz contributes a very funny Cat Stevens-type number (“I’m being hounded by a huge mortgage”) and Nina Arnold, Gretchen Stahl and Suzette Coger all have flashes of inspiration.

The writing, more exposed than heretofore by the limitations of the space, is not always inspired and sometimes steps a little too deeply into cheap vulgarity. In any case, audience participation segments still are the watermark of the Crazies’ success. There was wild potential in last Saturday’s “Jelly Sassy Raphael” lineup of loonies, improvising to an audience-suggested topic of “Lesbian Drug Addicts Who Love Men.” The audience was a little hesitant to cut loose, but the Crazies were definitely ready.

Now, if they can just finish that room. . . .

‘The Wizard of Orange’

The Orange County Crazies, produced and directed by Cherie Kerr, with Nina Arnold, Suzette Coger, Rich Flin, Eric Halasz, Greg Hammond, Lauri Johnson, Troy Nelson, Ron J. Ruhman, Annette Slusarenko, Jake Smith, Robin Spehar, Gretchen Stahl and guest host Chuck Lantz. Continues Saturdays through May 9 (except April 11 and May 2) at 8 p.m. at the Pacific Symphony Building, 115 E. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana. Tickets: $12 to $15. Reservations: (714) 840-1406.