The spirits of many celebrated bozos cavort about "Clownzilla: A Love Story" at the Rude Guerrilla Theater Company. Don't let the modest means of this oddly delightful assault on clown social dynamics fool you. Beneath its cracked sensibility bubbles elemental energy that reaches past commedia dell'arte to Aristophanes.

Not that "Clownzilla" is exactly lofty; its core concept of haves and have-nots is more often decorative than developed. Yet the silent-movie premise, though slight — two innocents go from birth to nuptials amid projected titles, physical indignities and traditional props — serves its purpose. From its blackout opening with the cast invading the seated audience, "Clownzilla" walks a tightrope between absurdist angst and daft precocity.

That it seldom trips is due to director Eli Simon, designer-composer Mike Hooker's invaluable soundtrack and the ensemble, a perfectly pitched mimetic quintet. As lovers Hope and Toots, deadpan Betsy Mugavero recalls the young Bernadette Peters, while mournful Adrian Alita suggests the late Emmett Kelly as slacker.

Adrienne Mueller's priceless Prissy, perpetually peeved of expression, is equal parts Mack Sennett comic Louise Fazenda and a dancing pickle. Dane Svenningson imbues nimble Arlechino figure Spot with gleefully controlled elasticity. As factotum Mr. Pants, the remarkable R.J. Romero goes for broke, his lip-sync to Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" a demented highlight.

Clad in designer Jessica Lynn Champagne's resourceful black-and-white wardrobe, these guileless goofs and some loopy guest buffoons devour the commedia-meets-community approach, which brings tickling returns. The frivolity climaxes in a surreal talent show of rubber-nosed locals who command the space, whether blowing bubbles sur la pointe or doing slight-of-hand with one giant card.

"Clownzilla" could tighten a vignette here, drop a transition there, but its freewheeling festivities offer a slapstick valentine to geeks everywhere.

*

`Clownzilla: A Love Story'

Where: Rude Guerrilla Theater Company, 202 N. Broadway, Santa Ana

When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Also, 8 p.m. Thursday, May 24

Ends: May 26

Price: $20

Contact: (714) 547-4688

Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

The artistry of the red-nosed, white-faced clown is a tradition of long standing, and one that Clownzilla hopes to keep alive.

The company started last year with the California Commedia Troupe at UC Irvine. Now, Artistic Director Eli Simon and Clownzilla have brought their act to Rude Guerrilla Theater Company, allowing the troupe broader exposure to local theater audiences.

Whether you consider this type of entertainment as legitimate theater (and, for the record, your correspondent does not), there is always a place for theatrical entertainment that is off the beaten path.

In its decade of existence, Rude G. has always gone out of its way to find properties that are fresh and unusual. In the process, the company has often shed light upon the extraordinary.

Simon and his new troupe's first show, "Clownzilla: A Love Story," don't breathe that rarefied air, but his star quintet and a raft of "guest clowns" do something else: They give us a chance to laugh wholeheartedly while thinking about the perennial tendency of humans to form cliques – including some, excluding others.

The "Love Story" in Simon's show is between equally awkward, painfully shy girl clown Hope (Betsy Mugavero) and boy clown Toots (Adrian Alita).

Actually, the "love story" part doesn't begin to formulate until nearly the end of the evening. We witness the birth of Toots and Hope as baby clowns, then get some 25-30 minutes of the pair being shown up by "in" clowns Prissy (Adrienne Mueller), Mr. Pants (R.J. Romero) and Spot (Dane Svenningson). After an additional 20 minutes of comedy routines by guest clowns, Toots and Hope find true love, as "Clownzilla" culminates in their wedding.

All five performers prove expert in sight gags, mugging and pratfalls, upholding the circus-clown tradition. As such, "Clownzilla," which is framed as a silent film, offers a whirlwind of wordless clowning.

The opening segment is where director Simon delivers the most fanciful look at the pronounced differences between the hipsters and their "out" counterparts. Whether competing in a 100-yard dash, trying to win the Clown High School talent contest or attempting to make an impression on the dance floor, Hope and Toots' efforts to mesh with the in-crowd are a hilarious wash.

Toots grows up to be a classic sad clown, and with his gloomy expression, three-day stubble and slow movements; Alita appears ready to inherit the mantle of Emmett Kelly. For her part, Mugavero projects the surprised and often baffled look of great silent film comic Harry Langdon.

Reminiscent of Rhea Perlman's "Cheers" character Carla, Mueller's loonily sour, often abrasive Prissy surfaces in many of the show's funniest bits. Romero and Svenningson's less-distinctive Mr. Pants and Spot round out the quintet.

Jessica Champagne (costumes), Chris Hansen (scenic design), Mike Hooker (sound design and original music), Alex Phillips (stage manager) and Matthew Stovall (lighting) team to give "Clownzilla: A Love Story" the look and feel of a silent film. Black-and-white supertitles provide descriptive text and bits of "dialogue," and the clowns are dressed and lit as though pioneers of the cinema.

If there's a problem with "Clownzilla: A Love Story," it's that Simon and company haven't managed to push the idea of a silent-film romantic comedy to its logical conclusion – for example, including some extended scenes with the shy Alita and Mugavero characters tentatively exploring the world of romance, or using a strobe light to further the illusion of those now-beloved, grainy, flickering silents.

Just the same, the brief "Clownzilla" (the show averages 70 minutes) offers many a memorable moment. Romero has a pair of hilarious bits involving lip-synching: In one, he's dressed as a cowboy, "singing" Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" while struggling with fire (a series of cigarette lighters). In another, he presents his "Singing Monkey" hand puppet, with Toots and Hope providing the star's backup singers via sock puppets.

The middle portion showcases the troupe's many "guest" clowns. The performance reviewed offered lunatic bits from Elizabeth Graciano, doing a wacky Mexican shuffle; Heraclio Pimentel Jr. as a cross between Gene Kelly and Harpo Marx; Laura Simms, in a crudely funny dance involving a sea otter; and Aysha Wax, using toy cows as comic props.