THEATER REVIEWS : ‘Star on the Door’: Way Off From What Script Should Be : The director keeps things moving, but not fast enough to blur empty acting and a weak plot about a Broadway opening and a misunderstanding.

At the Way Off Broadway Playhouse, there are so many holes in “Star on the Door” by Leo Sears and the late Jack Sharkey that one wonders why director Tony Reverditto didn’t have the surviving co-author do some rewrites to get the piece into logical shape.

The plot revolves frenetically around the opening night of a Broadway play. Before the opening curtain, fading actress Doreen Lewis is informed mistakenly by phone that she is pregnant. Since she claims not to have slept with any men, and the men in the story confirm that they have not slept with her, her biological naivete borders on the imbecilic. The twist is that her son Thomas has secretly married Doreen’s assistant Beverly, and the phone call was for her. No explanation is given of their reasons to keep their marriage secret.

Such flaws are multiplied by the very dated, flossy idea in the playwrights’ minds of what a Broadway opening night is like. Doreen and her co-star, Paul Burnside, don’t know any of their lines so they make it all up as they go; they also introduce Doreen’s stuffed plush dog into the onstage action (which we never see).

Reverditto keeps everything moving swiftly but not swiftly enough to blur the empty performances. Only Steve McCammon as Burnside maintains his cool, giving a fairly realistic interpretation and getting his laughs honestly. Carole L. Cooney’s Doreen is every amateur’s idea of what a star should act like, with sweeping gestures, rolling eyes and exaggerated readings.

Making matters even less believable, and less funny, most of the cast insists on delivering lines directly to the audience. Rarely do the actors communicate directly with each other.

Eddie Zeman as Doreen’s son and Vicky Dawson as Beverly mug a great deal, but aren’t as outrageously overboard as David Nelson’s pratfalling producer or Mark (The Shark) McKay’s outlandish Bavarian playwright, with a huge fright wig and an early vaudeville German accent.

That’s another hole in the plot: No one, from the stars to the producer (there’s no director around), knew the playwright was in town until he walked into the dressing room on opening night. By the end of the evening, “Star on the Door”--both the play and this production--looks like Swiss cheese.

* “Star on the Door” continues at the Way Off Broadway Playhouse, 1058 E. 1st St., Santa Ana, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through April 25 with a matinee April 25 at 2:30 . Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes. $15. (714) 547-8997. Vicky Dawson: Beverly David A. Nelson: Mel Thorn Carole L. Cooney: Doreen Lewis Eddie “Zee” Zeman: Thomas Steve McCammon: Paul Burnside Mark “The Shark” McKay: Wolfgang Ferris

A Way Off Broadway production of the play by Jack Sharkey and Leo W. Sears, directed by Tony Reverditto. Set and lighting design: David Carleen. Sound design: Steve Schmidt. Sound compilation: Tony Reverditto. Makeup: Suzette Cole. Stage manager: Raemi Rollans.