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Theater review: ‘Groundlings Space Camp’ at Groundlings Theater*

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The relative fun of ‘Groundlings Space Camp’ will rely on any given night’s itinerary of rotating writer-performers. Overall, this latest outing from the irreplaceable improv troupe is an efficient laugh-getter, sporadically graced by high-flying wit.

Following a goofy video PSA and a typically rocking blast from musical director Willie Etra’s band, director Mikey Day tweaks the format a bit. The first half is almost all sketches. Most of them land, and some soar. For example, Charlotte Newhouse and the redoubtable Stephanie Courtney savage sitcom grand dames in ‘AARP’ with ‘SCTV’-worthy zeal. Kevin Kirkpatrick’s ‘The Protector’ mines sci-fi hilarity from Toys R Us elements, and his outré crank Fred returns in ‘Principal’s Office,’ rewardingly teamed with co-author Ben Falcone.

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The stalwart Tim Brennen’s sweat-laden ‘Welcome to Toastmasters’ drone is an interactive prototype worth developing. A never-more-demented Jeremy Rowley makes an inexorable ‘Kobe’ fan, and joins Kirkpatrick, David Hoffman and Scott Beehner as ‘America’s Best Dance Crew,’ leaving hysteria in their orbit.

However, the show’s structure proves top-heavy, and its jets cool after intermission. A wry audience-participation gimmick attends Andrew Friedman and Hoffman’s ‘Hostage Situation,’ with Brennen and Damon Jones most selfless. The sketch itself is overstretched. Falcone’s ‘BBQ’ is a lunatic groin-punching piece, fueled by sound designer Nate Myers, which should pulverize Judd Apatow devotees, but left me colder than a moon rock.

Most troubling is how the few improvisational sequences betray prefabricated strategy in their isolated context. Still, if ‘Groundlings Space Camp’ isn’t entirely cosmic, it launches sufficient howls to offset the occasional lack of Tang.

--David C. Nichols

Groundlings Space Camp,’ Groundling Theater, 7307 Melrose Ave., L.A. 8 p.m. Fridays, 8 and 10 p.m. Saturdays. Ends Oct. 3. $16.50 (plus service charge). (323) 934-4747, Ext. 37. Running time: 2 hours

*UPDATE: An earlier version of this review included an incorrect phone number and ticket price.

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