`RIVERDANCE' OVERFLOWS ITS BANKS WITH MYSTIC MUSH : THE FACTS.

Byline: Reed Johnson Daily News Staff Writer

Looking like they just got off the boat from Dublin, the ``Riverdance'' company members have an earnest, unassuming charisma.

As they trot and stomp through their furious paces, the young dancers bring a fierce conviction to this much-hyped Irish import. What they lack is a conceptual framework worthy of their integrity and grit.

Conceived by Irishman Bill Whelan, a record producer and composer, ``Riverdance'' began life as a halftime act at the Eurovision Song Contest, that peculiarly European institution that launched Abba into superstardom.

Since then, Whelan has poked and padded the show, adding new material and tweaking his original idea of a showcase for homegrown Celtic talent. He also appears to have spent time hanging out in Broadway theaters, absorbing the basics of stagecraft and storytelling that previous versions of ``Riverdance'' sorely needed, as well as the rhythmic analogies put forward in shows like ``STOMP!'' and ``Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk.''

What he's come up with, in this latest incarnation, is a kind of national pop mythology - an interestingly messy, sometimes awkwardly amateurish stew of dance, new-agey choral singing and stiffly choreographed ensemble numbers, all of it drenched in a kind of mystic silliness and backed by an absolutely crack ensemble of Irish folk musicians who alone are almost worth the Pantages' absurdly expensive $66 top ticket price.

The set is framed by four monstrous, imitation-stone monoliths, inscribed with Druidic swirls, from which the dancers come bursting like banshees. By far the most effective numbers are those devoted to traditional Irish clog-dancing, a style as impressively rigid and disciplined as a military march. Led by the superlative Colin Dunne and Jean Butler, the dancers bring tremendous vitality to these routines.

Unfortunately, clog-dancing doesn't permit a wide range of emotional expression or thematic progression. Its effect is further neutered by a portentous voice-over droning bland pronouncements such as ``Out of the dark we come, out of the sea.'' Amid rear-screen projections of suns, moons and emerald-green pastures, a group of singers emerge holding candles and clad in the sort of scarlet-tunic chic not seen since ``The Lawrence Welk Show.''

Of course, not everyone can afford Disney-size production values, but look at what ``STOMP!'' achieved with garbage cans and a few pairs of Doc Martens.

As ``Riverdance'' progresses, its force-fed lyricism grows goofier by the minute. One segment, a lamentation for the Celtic mythical hero Cuchulainn, may remind some viewers of the ``Stonehenge'' sequence from ``This Is Spinal Tap.''

The show gets even shakier when it attempts to dramatize the impact of Irish dance on American tap, or its similarity to Spanish flamenco and Russian dervishes. While it's fair to point out that rhythm is universal, it doesn't necessarily follow that all rhythmic forms are historically or stylistically related, except in the most superficial sense.

Breaks between segments - during which several performers tugged their earlobes to elicit more applause - further disrupt the show's coherency.

``Riverdance'' still is a work in progress, and Whelan deserves credit for his clear determination to keep improving it. But if ``Riverdance'' aims to be taken seriously, it will need to apply as much intellectual rigor to its subject as it has to its brilliant marketing campaign.

What: ``Riverdance.''

Where: Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday;through Dec. 1.

Tickets: $46 to $66.

Information: Call [phone].

Our rating: Two stars

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Photo

Photo: Clog dancing, choral singing and Irish folk music combine in the much-hyped extravaganza ``Riverdance'' at the Pantages Theatre.