COURTESY BRAD GODA Wesley Busser, Brenda Hillebrenner and Victoria Gail-White star in "Red Herring," playing at Manoa Valley Theatre.

‘Red Herring,’ happily,
is anything but

First impressions can be misleading. Manoa Valley Theatre's production of "Red Herring" proves the point. For several frightening minutes as the show is getting under way, it seems to be yet another heavy-handed "spoof" or "parody" or "tribute" written to exploit some cultural icon. In other words, yet another show that takes a once-cherished part of American culture -- a style of music, perhaps, or the legacy of a popular entertainer -- and treats it with snide condescension, as if the only way to make it appealing to a contemporary audience were as an object of ridicule or cornball nostalgia.

"Red Herring," presented by Manoa Valley Theatre, continues through Dec. 5, with shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 4 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $25. Call 988-6131.

So much for first impressions! It takes a scene or two, but "Red Herring" turns out to be a well-written romantic comedy that recalls the manners and mores of an earlier era -- late fall 1952, to be precise -- without mocking them.

It's an election year. Dwight Eisenhower is running for president, and Sen. Joseph McCarthy is taking America's counterattack against communist spies to extreme lengths. An FBI agent is enjoying an affair with a stereotypically hard-boiled female detective as he attempts to crack a communist spy ring in Boston; a Russian fisherman/spy is struggling to avoid marrying his landlady/ lover; and a virginal Jewish-American physicist is courting McCarthy's staunchly Catholic daughter and trying to persuade her to help him deliver America's latest nuclear secrets to the Russians.

Playwright Michael Hollinger deftly blends the misadventures of these improbable couples into a fast-moving and clever take on the conventions of the dark film-noir detective stories popular in the years following World War II, while also slipping in some timeless advice on what it takes to build and maintain a relationship.

Anyone with an appreciation of the absurd will enjoy Hollinger's skill at wringing an extra laugh out of a comic premise without running it into the ground. Some of his best material seems older than vaudeville, but other sketches use the basic principles of comedy to make a reference to Velveeta good for recurring laughs.

This might be Bill Ogilvie's career-best success as a director. He maintains comic balance and dramatic momentum as a cast of six divides 18 characters among them. The cast pulls off some rapid costume changes as the story develops.

David C. Farmer and Gerald Altwies stand out with multifaceted performances. Farmer excels as the FBI agent -- particularly in the scenes in which the agent goes on a bender. He dominates another scene as an MacArthur-like military leader and does fine work playing a priest.

Altwies is outstanding in his primary role -- the hapless Russian fisherman Andrei, who believes his wife's survival in a Soviet slave labor camp depends on his participation in the spy ring. Altwies maintains a believable accent throughout and brings a perfect blend of comedy and low-key drama to a scene in which the Russian explains his theory on successful relationships while drinking vodka with a spoon. Altwies also displays a fine command of physical comedy in a scene where Andrei is forced to pretend he is mute and answer the G-man's questions with exaggerated sign language.

Victoria Gail-White contributes three entertaining performances as the communist landlady, as Sen. McCarthy's sexually conservative wife and as the cynical owner of a wedding shop. Wesley Busser personifies geekiness as the traitorous physicist.

Alison Gal is charming as the comically conflicted daughter of Sen. McCarthy -- she's "almost a virgin" and almost as concerned about her fiance's religion as about his activities as a spy.

Brenda Lee Hillebrenner completes the cast as the hard-boiled female detective.

Costume and hair/wig design has rarely been more important to the success of a small comic show, and Busser and Gail-White in particular benefit from the resourcefulness of Athena Espania (costumes) and Greg Howell (hair and makeup). Credit Howell with Farmer's comical toupee as well.

Manoa Valley Theatre has made some problematic picks in recent years when choosing comedies and musicals that draw on the culture of previous eras, but "Red Herring" is a winner in all respects.