Bubbly ‘Chatterbox’ Goes Over the Top

Ah, youth. Many in the creative team behind the Pig Latin Embassy, a new performance space in Hollywood just east of Theatre Row, are Southern Methodist University grads, apparently of relatively recent vintage. Their stated mission--to establish a non-dues-paying artists’ collaborative--is admirable, and the effort that has been poured into their handsome new facility is impressive. In fact, all involved seem so full of youthful high spirits, one only wishes their enthusiasm were more consistently infectious.

The Pig Latin’s latest effort--and the first that has been opened for review since their founding last year--is “Chatterbox,” Stacia St. Owens’ original satire. Subtitled “A Comedy of Technical Errors,” the play concerns the breakdown of individual communication in a high-tech age.

A loosely linked flow of characters and sketches, the play mingles a 1950s television sitcom sensibility with the crotch-grabbing comedy of the present. Felix A. Pire directs with bombastic broadness, sending his exuberant and capable cast so far over the top in their quest for laughs that the initially hilarious proceedings ultimately seem strained. As for the performers, they have energy to burn--but they unfortunately immolate Owens’ somewhat shaky premise in their untrammeled and undisciplined zeal.

* “Chatterbox,” Pig Latin Embassy, 6161 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends May 11. $10. (213) 962-0405. Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.