Satire Highlights ‘Syracuse’ Spoof

Broad vaudevillian satire is the order of the day at the re-christened Excalibur Theatre in Studio City, as Shakespeare gets the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart spin in “The Boys From Syracuse,” a musical spoof of “The Comedy of Errors.”

In this joint production from Excalibur Theatre Company, the new tenants of the former Lionstar Theatre, and La Petite Musical, boisterous energy abounds as a stranger and his servant are mistaken for their identical twin brothers in a hostile country.

Director Gary B. Lamb pulls out all the stops, embellishing George Abbott’s double-entendre dialogue with contemporary shtick--like the twins’ father (John Serembe) seeking his missing children with their likenesses etched on a milk bottle. Nevertheless, these antics sometimes come at the expense of character subtlety implicit in Hart’s sly lyrics.

A standout performance by Whitney Leigh scores high in both respects--her mousy wallflower who warms to the twin of her sister’s husband is a hilarious torrent of contradictory emotions, drawn with impeccable nuance and timing.

The other lead characters should also be conflicted, but their turmoil isn’t as evident. Despite having plenty to be confused about as they’re mistaken for one another, the two master twins (Gregory Franklin and Aaron Kjenaas) are single-note portraits. The servant twins (Kyle Kulish and Jim Blanchette) fare better since they’re written for slapstick.

Other strengths lie in the forceful singing voices of Susan Brindley as the long-suffering wife and Sandy Mulvihill as a brassy courtesan.

Attempting to straddle two different frames of reference, Jude Lucas’ costumes are a distracting mix of tunics worn over modern dress. More integral and better integrated is William Reilly’s live accompaniment with a full-sounding electronic keyboard orchestration. Stretching resources to the limit adds to a spirited irreverence that compensates for production constraints.

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* “The Boys From Syracuse,” Excalibur Theatre, 12655 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 4 p.m. Ends May 31. $20. (818) 789-8499. Running time: 2 hours.