Slapstick and Satire Compete for ‘Thieves’

When we first see them fleecing passersby in a Parisian park, the charmingly larcenous trio at the heart of Jean Anouilh’s 1934 farce “Thieves Carnival” seems thick as, well, thieves. It’s hard to believe their tight camaraderie and amoral allegiance could be splintered by a family of seemingly bumbling aristocrats--the very prey on which they survive.

Yet that’s exactly what happens when the scammers (George Tovar, Graham Jackson and Andrew Parks), disguised as a deceased Spanish nobleman and his sons, worm their way into the hospitality of Lady Hurf (Susan Morgenstern), Lord Edgar (Marc Grady Adams) and their marriageable nieces (Lisa Poff and Judith Cockman).

Under Norman Cohen’s amiable, albeit very safe, staging, Theatre West’s revival plays to the broadest laughs--an almost vaudevillian style in which players even leave a beat to soak up audience reaction.

The uneven cast spans the gamut from passable to professional, with notable efforts from Lady Bracknell-ish Morgenstern, Jackson and Poff (as the class barrier-defying romantic couple) and David Evans Brandt as the family’s dry banker trying to advance his fortunes by marrying his son (Kevin Symons) to one of the nieces. As the complications build to a well-choreographed frenetic crescendo, the cheery antics are furthered by the whimsical onstage presence of clarinetist Art Naito.

Nevertheless, the staging’s accessibility and slapstick come at the expense of Anouilh’s more subtle and thoughtful satiric reflections on the unexpected common values shared by criminals and the aristocracy.

*

* “Thieves Carnival,” Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends March 28. $18. (888) 551-WEST. Running time: 1 hour,55 minutes.