Groundlings Get Kicks on ‘5 Exits’

“Groundlings Next 5 Exits” encounters few pit stops on the road to satisfying comedy. This latest offering from the troupe’s main-stage ensemble fuels the laugh engine with high-octane performances, handily compensating even when the scripting hits a few speed bumps.

Versatility is the cast’s forte. Karen Maruyama shifts gears through a succession of memorably detailed characters: an obsessive bargain-hunting shopper, an inscrutably sinister tailor who collects male customers after relieving them of their pants, and a hilarious rendition of Jackie Chan attempting a serious movie role--with predictably bone-crushing consequences for his co-stars. Outrageous physicality also drives hilariously over-the-top portrayals involving Mary Jo Smith mutating from wallflower to sexual predator as she descends on a terror-struck Mike Loprete, and John Crane as a nerdy victim of alien abduction.

Other scenes are more nuanced. Loprete and Jennifer Joyce shine as a pair of naive L.A. newbies. In an especially well-written couples counseling session, Roy Jenkins’ “impartial” therapist continuously sides with Maruyama while belittling her insecure husband (Brian Palermo). Also enduring an identity crisis is Sean Hogan as an obsequious hotel desk clerk who’s taunted over the phone by a malicious guest (Palermo).

Endings are the Achilles’ heel of this collection--too many scenes simply run out of gas. While the shorter improv sequences presided over by director Deanna Oliver are by nature unpredictable, this lineup features some notably talented practitioners. Every performance, rhymester extraordinaire Jim Wise composes an off-the-cuff Elton John tribute to a celebrity suggested by the audience--this time, the honorary deceased was “ER’s” Noah Wyle, whose relative obscurity formed the butt of lyrical Wise-cracks. In a spontaneous Disney musical version of “The Pit and the Pendulum,” Maruyama’s surly personification of Poe’s familiar torture instrument drew this classic comeback from Jenkins: “You used to be a real swinger--what happened?”

* “Groundlings Next 5 Exits,” Groundling Theatre, 7307 Melrose Ave. Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 and 10 p.m. Indefinitely. $17.50. (213) 934-9700. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.