O.C. THEATER / JAN HERMAN : ‘Shrew’ Stands Up to OCC’s Pratfalls : The low comedy in Shakespeare’s text makes the college’s commedia dell’arte treatment a comfortable fit.

COSTA MESA — Advertised as a cross between “Le Cirque du Soleil” and the Marx Brothers, Orange Coast College’s production of “The Taming of the Shrew” doesn’t actually live up (down?) to that billing.

But it is a colorful and entertaining romp, gymnastically staged in a commedia dell’arte style. And with a raked, circular, padded, white platform covering the proscenium, the cavernous Robert B. Moore Theatre does suggest a one-ring circus.

Meanwhile, the show fairly teems with clownish tumblers, vaudeville jesters (and gestures), and, not least, a rah-rah peanut gallery that invariably cheers for the home team whenever the city of Padua is mentioned.

Can Shakespeare’s 400-year-old comedy stand the high jinks, the pratfalls and all the other zany liberties director Jon Sidoli has taken?

Absolutely.

It’s not as if he has tried to transform Fellini’s “La Strada” into an upbeat musical comedy in Technicolor--although, come to think of it, slapstick versions of Zampano and Masina as lighthearted lovers might not be out of place here.

The main reason for the circus concept’s comfortable fit is that Shakespeare’s text is imbued with a wealth of low comedy.

The play’s framing device, for example, lends itself to an antic atmosphere: A poor, drunken tinker is duped into thinking he’s an aristocrat for whom a show is about to be performed.

And the main plot almost begs for farcical theatrics: A rebellious, seemingly unmarriageable daughter (the acid-tongued Katherine) is tamed into submission by a strutting, new husband (the fortune-hunting Petruchio).

Contrary to some “Shrew” updates that have insisted on turning the text into a feminist tract, Shakespeare’s comedy feels comfortable when played for laughs--even when played only for laughs.

If this sort of treatment comes at the expense of the play’s darker undercurrents, so be it. A probing investigation into the gender war is better left to subtler, more experienced actors anyway.

One of the beauties of this production, in fact, is that it manages to finesse the college cast’s youth and inexperience precisely by emphasizing the comic spectacle.

The buoyant staging makes clever use of a large company, all gaily festooned in bright colors, surrounds them with jaunty sound effects and incidental music and gives them elementary acrobatics that don’t require much mastery but are funny just the same.

In other words, this tongue-in-cheek “Shrew” sets the audience up for broad caricatures and then fulfills expectations. Shading, texture, high-flown drama are not only not on the menu, they are not missed.

Standouts among the exuberant performers include Daniel J. Combs, who plays Petruchio with dexterity and command; Kathleen Dowd, who plays Katherine with aggressive confidence; and Anna Fitzwater, who plays Petruchio’s servant, Grumio, with gleeful friskiness.

Now, if the college could only do something to heat the theater. Patrons are well advised to bring blankets.

* “The Taming of the Shrew,” Orange Coast College’s Robert B. Moore Theatre, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. Ends Nov. 21. $8-$9. (714) 432-5880. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes. Daniel J. Combs Petruchio

Kathleen Dowd: Katherine

Nectar Rose: Bianca

Damon Hill: Baptista

P.J. Agnew: Lucentio

Craig Morganti: Tranio

David Henshaw: Gremio

Karl A. Person: Hortensio

Anna Fitzwater: Grumio

Lorena Ramirez: Biondello

Brewster Loud: Vincentio

Timothy James Adams: Merchant

Dana Boyd: Widow

Kristina A. Davis: Curtis

Jeff Kriese: Tailor

Lalu Moraes: Nathaniel

Richard Valente: Music Man

Bryan Prince: Music Man

An Orange Coast College Theatre Department presentation. Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Jon Sidoli. Production design and costumes: David Scaglione. Lighting design: Rick Golson. Incidental music: Michael Cross. Stage Manager: Jody Marler.