STAGE REVIEW : ‘Rain. Some Fish.’: No Explanation for Appeal : Huge crowds at premiere belie questionable quality of Way Off Broadway’s presentation of Y York’s comedy.

The Way Off Broadway Playhouse has always impressed me with its ability to draw crowds--overflow crowds, in fact, who buzz with excitement on opening nights and don’t have the cookie-cutter look of suburban playgoers out for an evening of “kulcher.” They know (at least I think they know) that there’s no chance of getting that at WOB.

They don’t go there for the stellar performances (at least I think they don’t). In five seasons, there haven’t been any. They don’t go there for the literate quality of the plays or the expert production values. In one variation or another, WOB offerings have always struck me as the theatrical equivalent of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”: I think the crowds I’ve seen there go to participate in an experience they can’t get at any other theater in Orange County.

I know of no other way to explain why so many people turned up for the premiere of “Rain. Some Fish. No Elephants.” that the curtain had to be delayed 20 minutes to make room for them in the aisles.

On anything sittable--chairs lugged in from the lounge, stools from the box office--the eager customers for Y York’s little-known futuristic comedy took their appointed places without complaint, drinks in hand, happily oblivious to the bad sight lines and tight legroom typical of WOB’s tiny basement theater.

When the lights came up, though, I got the odd feeling that WOB was trying to go straight on us. The uncredited set design was simple--a table, a rug, a bookshelf and not much else. There wasn’t even a hint of the garish. So it was reassuring to discover, once the performance began, that the acting was as bad as ever and the script itself just as dopey.

“Rain. Some Fish. No Elephants.” centers on a family living somewhere near Chesapeake Bay after a global ecological disaster, in an authoritarian society ruled by leaders who have outlawed love, books, dancing, art, etc. There are cloning laboratories, drugs to “dumb down” the citizenry and “Blackies” to work as robotic servants and spies.

Director Tony Reverditto is presenting the play in two versions, on alternating weekends. Each version has a different cast and a different “concept”--one is set in the future with purple costumes; the other is set in the future, too, but without the purple costumes.

In each, Dad scales a fish on the dining room table, Mom wanders around looking for household dirt, the younger daughter limps back and forth on a bad foot, the elder daughter eventually gets pregnant, a nasty young neighbor makes a visit and the “Blackie” discovers freedom.

The version with the purple costumes, being presented next weekend (March 27 and 28), has more capable performers and set and costume designs that demonstrate more imaginative handiwork. Otherwise, take your choice. The night I saw that version, the crowd was more subdued, the theater not as full. I have no idea why. Maybe because we were seeing the more ambitious production of the two.

‘Rain. Some Fish. No Elephants.’

Cast One:

Laurel Kelsh: Esther

Brenda Hamilton: Emily

Cheryl Etzel: June

Bill Adams: Gene

Christina Summers: Julia

Godfrey Huguley: Blackie

Cast Two:

Raemi Rollins: Esther

Andrea Rodriguez: Emily

Amylynn Harootian: June

Isaac Krivashei: Gene

Mary Ellen Moody: Julia

Godfrey Huguley: Blackie

A Way Off Broadway Playhouse presentation of a play by Y York. Produced and directed by Tony Reverditto. Lighting by Cathy Langston. Costume design by Nancy Endy. Sound engineer: Steve Schmidt. Performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through May 16, with two casts alternating each weekend. Closing performances are Sunday, May 17, at 2 p.m. with Cast One and at 5 p.m. with Cast Two. Tickets: $12.50 to $15. Information: (714) 547-8997.