Farce Machinery Hums in High Gear : Director Thomas Moore’s firm hand keeps the wheels spinning in Cypress’ production of ‘Lend Me a Tenor.’

If you’re going to give ‘em frothy nothings for entertainments, you might as well make them look dangerous.

That’s certainly the effect of an edge-of-your-seat farce like Ken Ludwig’s “Lend Me a Tenor,” keenly revived at the Cypress Civic Theatre. The secret to Ludwig’s success is in taking a standard premise--the star of the show, in this case the lead tenor for Cleveland Grand Opera’s production of Verdi’s “Otello,” is on the disabled list and a replacement must be found--and pushing it to the limit, and then, in the last moments, beyond.

The other secret is that Ludwig’s comedy is virtually alone in today’s fallow farce field, and infinitely more enjoyable than the only other contender, Neil Simon’s strained exercise, “Rumors.” Factor in audience hunger for theater candy-like farce, and “Lend Me a Tenor” is almost a lock for boosting a small-theater group’s coffers.

Almost. The catch is that “Lend Me a Tenor” is a beast to stage. It requires: A) Two talented physical comics; B) Two talented physical comics who also can sing some Verdi tenor material reasonably; C) A director who won’t let the pace flag for a moment; and D) A supporting cast that’s ready, willing and able to keep up. We’re talking aerobicized comedy here.

You’d assume that a community-theater group, faced with such a list of demands, would be badly handicapped. And you’d be wrong. Director Thomas A. Moore kicks his cast into first, then second, then third gear as doors swing and costumes change and tenors scamper about with violent glee.

If Moore has a problem, it’s Kyle Myers as Max, the opera company’s loyal yes man. Myers’ habit of a forced comic stutter and other performance tics take over from a performance, and they do so very early on, when things aren’t so frantic. You’d think Max had placed a bomb in the theater for all the arch nervousness on display, and Myers’ over-eagerness to belly flop right into the farce pool winds the comedy up too tightly too soon.

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On the other hand, Myers strongly delivers with both physical timing and the sense of Max’s torn loyalties between his blowhard producer boss Mr. Saunders (the very funny Glenn Cody)--who wants to keep tenor star Tito Merelli undisturbed--and his girlfriend, Maggie (the appropriately sweet Dana Reynolds), who will do anything to see Tito.

Of course, Maggie’s passion sets the farce into motion, followed by stomach-churning plastic fruit, other female groupies, Tito’s raging wife (the amusing Lisa Klubniken) and a handful of mistaken identities.

The sheer craft of Ludwig’s farce machinery, not of the elegance of a Feydeau frolic but far beyond what passes for farce anymore, goes beyond a joke-making assembly line: It’s a thing of plot-making beauty, the comic playwright’s equivalent of a sonnet.

Scott Ruiz’s Tito makes it all the more beautiful, performing a superb balancing act between credible opera-star bluster and the frenzy of an Italian man trapped in a situation none of his talents prepared him for.

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Although Moore can’t solve the problem of creating a believably confused identity switch between the tall Ruiz and the stocky Myers, both actors are by this point so brimming with energetic nuttiness that it nearly doesn’t matter. Some things in farce go without examining.

Worth examining, though, are some very game supporting turns, not only from Cody, but goofy Chris McCool as a star-struck bellhop, Della Lisi as Tito’s bed-hopping soprano co-star and Klubniken all in an amusing rage (though the raging sometimes gets to her Italian accent). Joan Neubauer as Julia, a matronly opera-guild snob, misses too many satiric opportunities in what is a New Yorker magazine-style caricature writ large.

George W. George’s basic two-room hotel set withstands all the door slamming, and Camile L. Brown’s costumes nicely play a key role in the plot. But it’s Moore’s firm hand that makes sure the wheels spin in this fluid farce machine.

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“Lend Me a Tenor,” Cypress Civic Theatre, 5172 Orange Ave., Cypress. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends Feb. 11. $8. (714) 229-6796. Kyle Myers: Max

Scott Ruiz: Tito

Dana Reynolds: Maggie

Glenn Cody: Saunders

Lisa Klubniken: Maria

Chris McCool: Bellhop

Della Lisi: Diana

Joan Neubauer: Julia

A Cypress Civic Theatre Guild production of Ken Ludwig’s farce. Directed by Thomas R. Moore. Set: George W. George. Lights and Sound: Craig Harreld. Costumes: Camile L. Brown.