Show of shows for lovers of musicals

For those with hyper-Broadway-tune-itis -- symptoms include breaking into Sondheim songs when getting a bit tipsy at cocktail parties -- “The Musical of Musicals: The Musical” might prove a dangerous evening. Potential injury involves overload to the part of the brain especially sensitive to references from musicals written after 1940.

For those without said malady, this parody of famous Broadway composers, produced with impeccable polish by the Laguna Playhouse, will be less mentally risky and maybe a little less fun, but still capable of causing moments of giddy delight.

“The Musical of Musicals” began life in 2003 at New York’s tiny York Theatre, and is now running at a more prominent off-Broadway post, the Dodger Stages. Written by Eric Rockwell and Joanne Bogart, the show consists of five brief musicals, each presented in the style of different Broadway composers. The referential and reverential parodies pay homage to Rodgers and Hammerstein (“Oklahoma!,” “The Sound of Music”), Stephen Sondheim (“Into the Woods,” “Sweeney Todd”), Jerry Herman (“Hello Dolly,” “Mame”), Andrew Lloyd Webber (“Phantom of the Opera,” “Cats”) and Kander and Ebb (“Chicago,” “Cabaret”).

Each piece follows the same plot line, in which the adorably but not especially bright ingenue (Alli Mauzey) is unable to pay the rent she owes to her dramatically imposing landlord (Jeffrey Rockwell). She seeks advice from an older, and usually wiser, woman (Mary Gordon Murray) and ends up rescued by her handsome beau (Brent Schindele), who, thankfully, pays the rent.

This conceit allows lyricist Bogart and Rockwell, who contributed the music, to play on the differences among the composers, and much of the fun comes from witnessing the complete overhaul in tone and character from one sequence to the next. Their take on these artists’ musical form is pretty much spot-on: the hokey seriousness of Rodgers and Hammerstein; the angst-riddled cleverness of Sondheim; the empty star-happiness of Herman; the overcooked melodrama of Webber; and the brooding sexiness of Kander and Ebb.

An example of how fun is milked from what’s generally predictable parody: Murray’s mature counselor morphs from a wise motherly matron, to a boozy, depressed old maid, to a (still boozy) diva who sings about just enjoying life, to a bombastic and jealous has-been, to -- in a particularly funny bit -- a tired prostitute who urges the ingenue to sell her body for the rent. I’ll let you peg the characters to the appropriate creators.

The music is original but recognizable; the lyrics are often hysterical. Plenty make clever, corny nods to the source. “I am not a loon,” sings the homicidal landlord in the Sondheim bit, “No one is a loon.” It’s a take -- as musical theater mavens will know -- on “No one is alone.” Go ahead and groan; it’s OK.

Personally, I find more fun the lines that capture something a bit more significant about the way the composers write. For example, again from the Sondheim sequence and set to his unique brand of musical pointillism, there’s a perfect bit of character revelation from our not-so-bright leading lady: “Sometimes I think I’m having a thought.” Pause. “But then I realize I’m not.”

Bogart and Rockwell take digs as well, particularly at Webber. “I’ve heard that song before,” sings the ingenue. “You’ll hear it even more,” responds the Phantom-like landlord. If that’s not enough, the bites continue with this line set to a take on “Music of the Night”: “It might just sound a teeny/Like something from Puccini.”

You get the point.

The director-choreographer, Pamela Hunt, and her design team, all veterans of the York Theatre production, do a fine job of keeping the piece simple as they expand it to the larger Laguna Playhouse venue. Their minimal use of projection is about right.

The cast is made up of terrific, multitalented players who sing (and, in Mauzey’s case, squeak) ably, dance with joy, ham it up and, with Jeffrey (no relation to Eric) Rockwell and Schindele, play the piano too.

If there’s a danger for the future of “Musicals of Musicals,” it’s in thinking too much of itself. This is a small piece, a cabaret act more than a full-blown show, pleasant but not especially meaningful, even about the musical form itself.

Let’s face it: Given the choice between this entertaining but slight in-joke of a show, and the real thing, I’d opt for the latter.

*

‘The Musical of Musicals: The Musical’

Where: Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays

Ends: Sept. 4

Price: $20 to $59

Contact: (949) 497-2787, www.LagunaPlayhouse.com

Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes