A fuzzy spotlight on dueling divas

There’s a lively spirit behind “Rocio! In Spite of It All,” a new musical cabaret at King King in Hollywood. However, at present, it’s wandering and disembodied.

Written by Oliver Mayer (“Blade to the Heat”), with “re-imagined” music by Mayer and Aaron Fischer based on various vintage tunes, the show centers on the blistering rivalry between sultry singer Rocio del Rio (Marlene Forte) and her steamy fellow star, Inez Maduro (Lidia Ramirez).

The title character is a thinly veiled amalgam of Latina singing stars Rocio Durcal and Rocio Jurado, both of whom died very recently after long battles with cancer, while Inez is the fictionalized version of Iris Chacon, the Puerto Rican bombshell whose suggestive performances scandalized audiences in the pre-Madonna era.

Although the show is meant more as campy homage than actual biography, more personal information about the fascinating women on whom it is based would have been welcome. Because Mayer never properly sets up his characters, their passionate monologues and nasty interchanges seem irritatingly unspecific in both motivation and chronology.

Still, director Armando Molina, supported by choreographer Lesley Ann Machado, goes boldly over the top trying to make this thin material work, as do his performers.

Forte is a chanteuse with real flair, and Ramirez puts the broad in comedy. Silken-voiced Shalim steals several scenes as a dazzled fan who befriends these dueling divas.

“Rocio! In Spite of It All,” King King, 6555 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Sundays and Mondays. Ends July 31. $20. www.kingking.com, www.smarttix.com. Running time: 45 minutes.