‘Latins’ Takes One Laugh at a Time : The revival at Fullerton’s Teatro Cometa has some wisdom and insights for theatergoers of all ethnic stripes.

I remember growing up the butt of dumb-Swede and tipsy-Irish jokes. A Polish friend remembers being at the receiving end of Polack jokes which, he said, young Polish-Americans thought were funny, but their parents didn’t understand. We learned we had to develop our own sense of humor about ourselves, and how others saw us, as self-defense.

Writers Luisa Lechin, Armando Molina, Rick Najera and Diane Rodriguez came to the same realization when they put together the original production of “Latins Anonymous.” It’s all about “Latin denial,” and how to make peace with who you are. It’s also about having a sense of humor to carry you over life’s road bumps.

The production now at Fullerton’s Teatro Cometa understands that need for a sense of humor and finds the giddy edge the writers intended--somewhere between anger and waking up and smelling the menudo.

The director, Gabriel Enriquez, sometimes lets his cast of four veer dangerously close to going overboard, but always reins them in just in time.

He has put together a well-paced revival that has insights not only for its specific audience, but also rewards for the non-Latino theatergoer. People who laugh together forget to be angry.

Although the script is composed of sketches on varying aspects of the Latino-American experience, those sketches are bound by recurring visits to a 12-step meeting of Latins Anonymous.

“Hello,” says actor Victor Duran as he greets the audience with a wide grin. “My name is Rick. I’m a Latino.” Rick is getting his one-year tortilla chip as a member. Luisa Gomez (Mily Escalante) is still in denial, claiming a French heritage. That’s the broadness and the pointedness of the humor.

The targets are all self-based, in a manner similar to George C. Wolfe’s “The Colored Museum,” and the thrust is refreshing and generally original.

For the most part, performances are full of energy and hit the punch lines just right. If a couple of the sketches are a bit too explosively performed to get the laughs they should, the pseudo-seriousness of “Pinata Therapy” and “Mayan Defense League” are on target, along with a sketch about the social decline of a 19-year-old ex-member of Menudo, now a busboy.

Most buoyant and with the best comic timing is Duran; he knows when a laugh is coming and how to wait for it. Paul G. Saucido is right up there with Duran, funniest when he’s underplaying.

Liz Gonzalez makes lightning personality changes in her many characterizations, allowing her own sense of humor to bubble underneath them all. Outside of a tendency to overplay most of the time, Escalante has some good moments during the evening.

* “Latins Anonymous,” Teatro Cometa, 116 1/2 W. Wilshire Ave., Fullerton. Fridays-Saturdays, 8:30 p.m. Ends June 19. $6. (714) 526-5156. Running time: 2 hours.

Victor Duran: Rick

Liz Gonzalez: Diane

Paul G. Saucido: Armando

Mily Escalante: Luisa/Nicolette

A Teatro Cometa production, with L.A. Teatro. Written by Luisa Lechin, Armando Molina, Rick Najera and Diane Rodriguez. Directed by Gabriel Enriquez. Set design by Cynthia Vargas, Gabriel Enriquez. Lighting: Martin Hernandez. Sound: Chris Flores.