Go to the head of the class

A cow on the lam, a teacher who doesn’t exist (or does she?), tango lessons in the classroom and baked liver with purple sauce in the cafeteria: At Wayside School, things are very wacky and strange indeed.

Wayside School -- 30 stories tall, with one classroom per story because it was accidentally built sideways -- is the setting for a series of comically anarchic books by noted children’s author Louis Sachar, whose offbeat novel, “Holes,” was a recent film.

“Sideways Stories From Wayside School,” John Olive’s new stage adaptation of Sachar’s work, is the second installment in South Coast Repertory’s inaugural series of professional family theater. Well-executed and professionally staged, it’s a wicked little romp of a show with appeal for both children and their accompanying adults.

With material from three Wayside books and some character shuffling, Olive starts things off with witchy Mrs. Gorf (cue the scary organ music, thunder and lightning flashes), whose idea of discipline is to turn students into apples. When her spell backfires, she’s gobbled up by Louis the Yard Teacher (Louis Lotorto).

Things get stranger as Mrs. Gorf’s students Dameon (Sol Castillo), Myron (Kevin Berntson), Bebe (Elisa Bocanegra), Rondi (Melanie Lora) and Leslie (Wendy Johnson) encounter the nonexistent Miss Zarves, the pear-shaped school psychologist and prankster Dr. Pickle, fiery tango instructor Miss Valooosh and substitute teacher Mr. Gorf, who turns out to be Mrs. Gorf’s son looking to avenge his “mommy’s” disappearance.

And then there’s nice Mrs. Jewls (Jodi Thelen), the decidedly unorthodox new teacher, who finds that the classroom computer makes a dandy tool to demonstrate the effects of gravity -- when dropped from the 30th floor window.

Will Mrs. Gorf continue to haunt the students? Will Mr. Gorf get his comeuppance? Will Myron caw like a crow when he hears the word “pencil”? Will elusive Miss Zarves play a key role in straightening everything out?

The adult cast, directed by Stefan Novinski, makes the most of the fun, led by Howard Shangraw, who’s a campy hoot as Mrs. Gorf, Mr. Pickle, Miss Valooosh, Mr. Gorf and various voices (although he gives the game away with identical laughs for Mrs. Gorf and Miss Valooosh).

Costume designer Angela Balogh Calin makes Shangraw a visual joke too, in his big-bosomed, bewigged female garb and his cartoon-like male attire.

Donna Marquet’s tall, tall classroom set is designed like a water-color-and-ink book illustration, with certain elements that make a surprise transformation in a most satisfyingly dramatic way, enhanced by lighting designer Tammy Owens Slauson and sound designer Drew Dalzell.

South Coast Repertory’s series for young audiences got off to a quiet start in October with a just-pleasant production of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” “Sideways Stories,” much more robust and theatrically satisfying, raises the bar considerably.

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‘Sideways Stories From Wayside School’

Where: South Coast Repertory, Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

When: Today, 7 p.m.; Saturday, 2, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 4:30 p.m.

Ends: Sunday

Price: Adults, $19 or $21; children (12 and under), $14 or $15

Info: (714) 708-5555

Running time: 80 minutes