With few exceptions (Noises Off, for example), comedies aren't quite as funny the second time around. You know the story, the setups, the punch lines. That element of hilarious surprise is missing.

If you're in search of some summer laughs, Paul Rudnick's The New Century at GableStage will supply them. Lots of them. The play, which premiered in its current form at Lincoln Center in 2008, consists of four short pieces: two pure monologues, one near-monologue and a final play featuring all the characters.

And if you're thinking this sounds a bit like Rudnick's version of City Theatre's Summer Shorts festival, you're not far off. The first two pieces in The New Century were done as stand-alone shorts: Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach in 2003, Pride and Joy in 2005. Both featured the festival's marquee talent, Stephen Trovillion, at his droll best -- two perfect pairings of actor and material.

If you're new to everything in The New Century, of course, that bit of history won't matter. And it's not meant to disparage the considerable talent that Patti Gardner and John Felix bring to those roles at GableStage, just to point out that the two strongest pieces in The New Century have been done here, quite artfully, before.

Gardner kicks things off as Helene Nadler, a proud Jewish mother from Long Island who may be the most accepting mom in history. Just ask her. Pacing the stage in a chic suit and tasteful pumps, she shares the coming-out history of her three grown children -- a lesbian, a transgendered son who becomes a lesbian, and a submissive leather fetishist son who likes less-than-sanitary playthings. Oy.

Felix is the gleefully flamboyant Mr. Charles, a middle-of-the-night cable access host with a little show he calls Too Gay. He claims to have been kicked out of New York for being unable to resist taking ''nelly breaks,'' in which he dials up stereotypical behavior to stratospheric levels (and appears to be on the verge of yodeling), but he has found happiness in his late-night oasis and the presence of his go-go boy ''ward'' Shane (Daniel Landon). The showoff bit in Mr. Charles is the TV host's 60-second rendition of the history of gay theater in America -- topped off by gratuitous full-frontal male nudity courtesy of Shane.

In the third piece, Sally Bondi plays Barbara Ellen Diggs, a crafts-crazy mom from Decatur, Ill. As she cheerily babbles about the tuxedo she made for her toaster and the outfits she designed for her cat, Barbara Ellen divulges a sadder story: the death of her son Hank from AIDS. Bondi hits all the right notes here, finding the empathetic dignity within Barbara Ellen and making her thoroughly endearing.

And then there's the last, character-combining coda. Helene, Mr. Charles, Shane, Barbara Ellen and Joann Milderry (Jehanne Seralles), a new mom who happily allowed Mr. Charles to zap her baby boy and transform him into a gay tyke dubbed ''Mr. Max,'' all convene in the maternity ward of a New York hospital. For no reason, really, except that they're each seeking a kind of comfort from viewing rows of innocent new life. And Rudnick needed an ending.

The playwright tries to deepen the last piece, fleetingly, by mixing in a touch of 9/11 material. Then we're treated to Shane's epiphany (and bonding moment with Helene) about the healing power of retail therapy. And finally, we get Shane's brand-new dead-of-night cable show, which features the host and other characters dancing to a disco beat.

Director Joseph Adler keeps the cast careening from one laugh to the next until that final bit, which is supposed to be bad and lame. But not that bad.

Christine Dolen is The Miami Herald's theater critic.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@