THEATER REVIEW / ‘NOISES OFF’ : Play for Play’s Sake : The laughs never falter during PCPA Theaterfest’s well-executed farce.

PCPA Theaterfest hasn’t pulled any punches staging “Noises Off” it’s hurled its entire complement of summer artists-in-residence at Michael Frayn’s slapstick farce.

The cast members certainly get the job done with talent to spare. There isn’t a pratfall left untumbled or a double entendre left untendered by the end of the evening’s zany whirlwind, which takes us behind the scenes as the singularly untalented members of a regional British theater troupe attempt to stage a leering bedroom comedy called--all too appropriately--”Nothing On.”

Not only is their play dreadful, but the general lack of ability, coupled with backstage intrigues and romances, drive the nine company members to frantic distraction as they struggle through a progressively deteriorating technical rehearsal, matinee and evening performance during the show’s run.

Along the way, everything associated with the production goes hysterically wrong. The dialogue gets mangled beyond recognition, the set falls apart, and the cast’s assorted couplings and recouplings become inextricably woven with the characters they’re playing.

But while the fictional actors playing these characters may be awful, the actual PCPA cast is uniformly quite the reverse. No small accomplishment, that--being really good at being really bad--and admirably precise performances and perfectly rendered accents help us appreciate the talents of the cast at the same time we’re lamenting their characters’ lack thereof.

Karen Barbour is picture-perfect as the underclad bimbo who responds to stage directions with a vacant “Sorry?” and whose perpetually lost contact lenses force her into all sorts of exaggeratedly revealing poses.

Gregg Coffin is a smug delight as the romantic lead overcome with self-importance. Frederic Barbour’s well-intentioned actor is preoccupied with incidentals like motivation and continuity in the script, while Kitty Balay desperately improvises to hold the disintegrating performance together.

Teresa Thuman is a character actress who can’t quite get her lines right, while Charlie Bachmann is a tipsy stage veteran who keeps hiding bottles all over the theater. Stage managers Lisa Paulsen and Jack Greenman struggle valiantly to prop up the sinking ship, while the long-suffering director (Jonathan Gillard Daly) presides over the chaos and juggles his multiple romantic entanglements.

It’s the real director, Roger DeLaurier, who deserves considerable credit for meshing these consistently amusing performances with impeccable rapid-fire timing--he clearly understands the mechanics of successful farce and implements them admirably here. Despite a 2 1/2-hour run time, the production never drags--only during the extended mugging in the second act is there pause to catch our breath. But from there we plow through to the frenetic finale.

Experienced stagecraft, especially in Norm Spencer’s scenic design, make navigating the intricate technical requirements seem easy (like rotating the two-story theater set for audience and backstage views).

There’s no sense mucking around in the catacombs for what it all means. What you see is what you get in “Noises Off.” But if your appetite runs toward well-executed farce, this one couldn’t be done better.

While the laughs never falter during the opening volley of PCPA’s outdoor summer theater in Solvang, the scaled-down season--two farces and two musicals in place of the wide-ranging, rotating repertory of years past--is a more serious reminder that here, as everywhere, recession and state budget cuts are taking their toll on the cultural resources we’ve come to take for granted.

MAIL CALL: Speaking of opening volleys, the Pasadena Playhouse fired the first round this week in its new partnership with Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre, launching a three-week run of A. R. Gurney’s “Love Letters.”

It’s a shrewd choice for untested Central Coast waters: On an empty stage, two actors read the intimate, lifetime correspondence between two friends who lead separate lives but reveal their deepest longings, hopes and fears. Low overhead, minimal rehearsal--a theater producer’s dream.

But what’s also captivated audiences around the country is the practice of casting pairs of celebrities for one-week appearances. The Lobero run begins with real-life co-stars John Clark and Lynn Redgrave, veterans of several previous “Love Letters” productions, through Sunday. Martin Sheen and Trish Van Devere take over through July 19, followed by Tom Troupe and Barbara Rush through July 26. Tickets are $27.50. Show times are 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. (805) 963-0761.

* WHERE AND WHEN

“Noises Off” will be performed at the Solvang Festival Theatre, Wednesdays through Sundays at 8:30 p.m. through July 18. It will also be performed at Allan Hancock College’s Marian Theatre in Santa Maria at 8:30 p.m. July 25, 30, and 31 and Aug. 1, 6, 7 and 8; matinees on July 25, 26, 28, 29 and Aug. 1, 6, 7 and 8. Prices are $15 and $18 Fridays and Saturdays; all other performances are $12 and $14. Call (800) 221-9469 for reservations or further information.