THEATER REVIEW : 31-Song Rodgers & Hart Tribute Is a Romp Down Memory Lane : Without the safety net of a plot, the performers stay admirably on track through some abrupt musical gear shifts.

You have to understand up front that “Sweet, Smart Rodgers & Hart” is a revuerather than a fully staged theatrical event. Calibrate your expectations accordingly, and you’ll be in good shape to enjoy the charm, painstaking research and exceptionally accomplished performances that embellish this tribute culled from the canon of more than 650 songs penned during the 1920s and ‘30s by composer Richard Rodgers and his original lyricist, Lorenz Hart.

Without the safety net of a plot or consistent characters, the four performers--Linda Griffin, Marcia Mitzman, Karen Morrow and Bob Walton--stay admirably on track through some abrupt gear shifts during the evening’s 31 songs. Two pianos provide the accompaniment--the rest is all chutzpah.

For those old enough to recall the Rodgers and Hart era, the show is a guaranteed romp down memory lane.

But the majority of viewers will find it a window into unfamiliar territory, since the Rodgers and Hart musicals are not the typical grist for perennial revivals by regional musical theater companies--unlike the later collaborations between Rodgers and his second collaborator, Oscar Hammerstein II.

Not that Rodgers and Hart weren’t innovators. In their time, the team pushed the envelope of Broadway musicals in every direction--from their freewheeling reincarnation of Shakespeare’s twins from “The Comedy of Errors” as “The Boys from Syracuse,” to their distinctly untraditional celebration of John O’Hara’s scam-artist hero in “Pal Joey.”

But the songs in this revue demonstrate how little the team exploited the use of song to develop a show’s story. In contrast to Hammerstein’s lyrics, which wedded the singer to the psychological and narrative details of his or her character, what’s most striking here is the purity of feeling--whether passion in “Isn’t It Romantic?” or loneliness in “Little Girl Blue” or desperation in “Tell Me I Know How to Love.”

It’s precisely that innocent, almost generic outpouring that makes the Rodgers and Hart musicals so difficult for contemporary audiences to accept--we’ve become so acclimated to Sondheimesque emotional complexity and ambivalence that their simplicity seems suspect.

Ironically, the revue format chosen by the show’s creator and director, Steven Suskin, frees these Rodgers and Hart tunes from the burden of dramatic integration, and they’re easier to appreciate on their own terms. The songs are grouped by theme--songs of romance, unrequited love, Depression-era struggle, etc.--with occasional biographical narration commendable for its insight as well as its brevity.

The background on the overwhelming sadness and self-loathing that ultimately led Hart to abandon the partnership and ultimately life itself brings extra poignancy to the material.

Nevertheless, the concern as to whether “Sweet, Smart Rodgers & Hart” warrants a full-fledged theatrical ticket price is a legitimate one. The affection and hard work from those involved are certainly apparent, but the minimal staging, limited range and specialized appeal of the piece itself make it better suited to an intimate, cabaret-style venue than the expansive (and expensive) Lobero Theatre.

Details

* WHAT: “Sweet, Smart, Rodgers & Hart”

* WHEN: Through Feb. 13, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.

* WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St., in Santa Barbara.

* COST: $28.50

* FYI: For reservations or further information, call (805) 583-8700