‘Scuttlebutt!’ Puts Too Much in the Mix

Bill Birch’s new comedy, “Scuttlebutt!,” at the Zephyr Theatre, shows potential and has some good moments, but it’s little more than related skits patched together that fail to form an arch of suspense, falling flat even at the surprise punch line.

Birch and Jim O’Heir portray the numerous inhabitants of Sweet Home, Miss.--hicks excited by the arrival of TV talk-show celebrity Larry Stringer, who is looking for guests with slugfest potential or sexual revelations.

At the center of the activity is the president of the welcoming committee, Natty (O’Heir in a cheap blond wig styled like a football helmet with bangs and wearing a thoroughly horrific floral muumuu) and her out-of-work son, Bobo (Birch). Bobo tries to get a job through his old friend Earl (O’Heir), a man of slow mental capabilities, while his mother and girlfriend Deanne (Birch) try to maneuver Bobo to the altar.

Some of the other characters could be cut. Birch has stuffed this slight piece too full for it to flow well. Director Jennifer Joyce doesn’t set the awe-inspiring, dizzy quick-change pace that Randee Trabitz did in “The Mystery of Irma Vep.” At times, Joyce seems a bit indulgent, going moment by moment for maximum laughs instead of the steady-build-to-the-punch-line finale.

Birch’s piece is neither as polished nor as well-performed as Joe Sears’ and Jaston Williams’ in their “Greater Tuna” two-man show turns, but the promise is there.

*

* “Scuttlebutt!,” Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Aug. 30. $18-$20. (323) 660-8587. Running time: 2 hours.