'PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES' SHOULD BE MORE OF A GAS.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

HEY, FELLAS! Howzabout crankin' this party up a notch!

There can be one way, and one way only, to shake some life into ``Pump Boys and Dinettes,'' the plotless and mostly pointless collection of songs from a rural roadside filling station and adjoining greasy spoon. You pretty much have to treat the evening like a big down-home siesta with us as the guests as well as occasional participants.

Unfortunately, the El Portal Theatre - which is hosting a run of ``Pump Boys'' through its San Fernando Valley Playhouse series - isn't really built for a lot of performance/audience connection. The distance between stage and seats is too great, and sound difficulties (in this case, the use of over-loud handheld microphones) don't help with intimacy.

Director Chet Deter's cast handle the instruments smoothly, sing pleasantly and are working their charm muscles for everything they're worth. Alas, folksy breeziness doesn't come easily to this group, and it too often feels like Deter is taking the first-act anthem ``Taking It Slow'' a bit too literally. ``Pump Boys and Dinettes'' is frequently boring.

But then, what else to expect from a show whose collection of gas-station attendants enjoy their isolation out on Route 57 and would rather do anything (fish, drink, woo the ladies) than work? The diner-operating sisters, Prudie and Rhetta Cupp (played by Tara Tucker and Catherine Battocletti), are more than willing to offer service with a smile, although their only customers appear to be the pump boys.

Created in the early 1980s, ``Pump Boys and Dinettes'' was written by original cast members John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel and Jim Wann. According to the press notes, the show grew out of a two-man musical act at New York's Cattleman Restaurant. Hardwick and Wann started dressing up in gas-station-attendant outfits to break the monotony. They were eventually joined by a two-person cabaret act - ``Dinettes'' Monk and Morgan - and a show was born.

``Pump Boys'' ran for 573 performances on Broadway, has toured extensively, and frequently sprouts up at smaller theaters throughout the country. To stage it, a director obviously needs actors who are also musicians - or vice versa.

Deter and musical director Kevin Rotty have them. Guitarist Jim (Jimmy Bishop), heartthrob pianist L.M. (Martin Alexander Fox) and guitarist Jackson (Casey Gensler) all clearly know their way around the bluesy/honky-tonk terrain that ``Pump Boys'' is traversing. And when Tucker and Battocletti start banging along on wooden spoons (or whatever else they can find), the ensemble achieves some nice bits of harmony.

What this ``Pump Boys'' is lacking, however, is energy and playfulness - even a bit of winking knowingness that affords us - as guests - permission to hoot, holler and scream along. Producer James Blackman III - supplier of the most colorful precurtain speeches in the Southland - has that sensibility and can get an audience roaring, but he's not in the show.

Equally engaging, albeit in a different way, is Joe Link playing the silent, sunglasses-wearing mechanic Eddie. The man never utters a word, but he keeps time, glowers and nods with clear intent and steals ``Pump Boys'' from all the singers. If ``Pump Boys and Dinettes'' is actually designed for a silent bass-playing mechanic to walk off with it in his grease-stained pocket, then this may be a musical in need of a long, quiet rest.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES - One and one half stars

Where: El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; through Nov. 20.

Tickets: $35 to $45. [phone].

In a nutshell: Clunky songs capably sung, but short on genuine charm.

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Photo:

``Pump Boys and Dinettes'' features Casey Gensler, left, Catherine Battocletti, Martin Alexander Fox, Tara Tucker, Jimmy Bishop and Joe Link.