THEATER REVIEW : Murder on the ‘Morocco’ Express : Colorful direction pumps energy into an already lively cast in the musical spoof of exotic ‘40s thrillers.

Ever wonder what happened after Pepe le Moko disappeared into the Casbah, and after Rick and piano player Sam closed the bar and left post-war Casablanca?

Linda Ballew and Terence Alaric have some answers for you in their new musical “Murder in Morocco” at the Newport Theatre Arts Center.

It’s 1948. The villains are Russians now, not Nazis, but things are progressing just as they always have. Into a steaming caldron of espionage and intrigue blithely trip much-married Margie and her spinster sister Dee, along with their niece, Carolyn, and adventurous young nephew, Benji.

What they find is a frantic maelstrom of agents and natives, our hero/foreign correspondent/novelist/unrepentant gambler Paul Jackson and his goofy sidekick Wheezy. Jackson has lost heavily at cards and changes identities with Max Hammond, who is really . . . well, that’s part of the fun, figuring out who is who.

Although Alaric’s score includes only one memorable song (“I’ll Vamp Till You’re Ready”), and although the cliches fly fast and furious, “Morocco” is an energetic, frequently funny send-up of exotic ‘40s thrillers, a pleasant diversion that deserves further development.

It has been directed colorfully by Dani Ballew, who has pumped adrenaline in where needed to keep things at a furious pace that lessens only when the cast needs to catch its breath during a ballad or a plot twist. For this show, it’s the right style.

*

The large cast revels in the carrying-on. As Margie, who--unattached for a change--is looking for a Charles Boyer in the side streets, Mary Sullivan Slack is as bubbly as Spring Byington. Leslie Rowe is prim as she can be as Margie’s sister, covertly trying to find a Humphrey Bogart. Patty Mears’ squeaky-voiced Carolyn prefers Clark Gable, and kid brother Benji (happily hyper Grant Peterson) just wants to be Terry of Terry and the Pirates.

They’re all good, especially Rowe after she has gone through a transformation into a sultry type in a slinky dress, belting out the torchy, aforementioned “Vamp.”

Howard Mango’s laid-back comic flair is just right for Jackson who, incognito anyway, becomes Boyer for Margie and Bogey for Dee. Mango also knows his way around a show tune. As his sidekick, Scott Ratner spends most of his time doing a funny Walter Brennan, long johns and all, until he spots Carolyn and becomes Jimmy Stewart, deciding it’s a wonderful life after all.

“Murder in Morocco” doesn’t pretend to be anything more than the tongue-in-cheek giggle it is, and it accomplishes what it sets out to do.

* “Murder in Morocco,” Newport Theatre Arts Center, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach. Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Ends Dec. 19. $15. (714) 631-0288. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes. Howard Mango: Jackson

Scott Ratner: Wheezy

Mary Sullivan: Slack Margie

Leslie Rowe: Dee

Grant Peterson: Benji

Patty Mears: Carolyn

A Newport Theatre Arts Center production of a new musical with music and lyrics by Terence Alaric and book by Linda Ballew. Directed by Dani Ballew. Musical director: Terence Alaric. Costumes: Sallie Licata. Scenic design: Phillip Lubman. Lighting design: Marc Dirnberger. Stage manager: Kelly Gibson.