At This Performance: Danger, Hilarity

Playwright Nagle Jackson has a refreshing flair for satirizing the foibles of the theater world without undermining his obvious affection for it. Both qualities invigorate “At This Evening’s Performance,” Jackson’s backstage farce at Theatre/Theater, which hilariously depicts a touring company’s struggle for survival under a fictional East European totalitarian regime.

That struggle becomes a literal one when the troupe’s harried actor-manager (Paul Eiding) learns of a sinister police plot to assassinate one of his actors in mid-performance. Unfortunately, the identity of the target remains unknown, while amusingly engineered circumstances dictate the show must go on--setting the stage for the panic-stricken cast’s neurotic rendering of an ancient sword-and-sandal epic.

Under Jeff Murray’s direction, deft comic timing and sharp performances make for an engaging romp. Noel Harrison plays a suitably elegant stage veteran, reminiscing about his past stardom in a self-deprecating wink to Harrison’s own “Girl From U.N.C.L.E.” heartthrob days. As the actress-wife of the philandering manager, Nicolette Chaffey repays her wayward spouse by throwing herself at the young lead (James Manning), who in turn woos the manager’s mistress (Kelie McIver). The troupe’s surly new stage manager (Jon Stafford) and a menacing cultural minister (Dan O’Connor) supply the opposition.

The predictable slapstick elements of theatrical parody abound (bed-hopping, intentionally hammy performances, and prima donna egos), but the literate script also rewards theater lovers with allusions and wry insider jokes--sensibilities it shares with Jackson’s “The Quick Change Room,” which enjoyed a popular L.A. run at Pacific Resident Theatre. Lacking the latter’s more substantial, reality-based backdrop of the old Soviet system’s transition to capitalism, “Performance” is a lighter, frothier piece by comparison, but no less charming.

*

* “At This Evening’s Performance,” Theatre/Theater, 6425 Hollywood Blvd. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends July 18. $15. (323) 871-9433. Running time:1 hour, 50 minutes.