A PRETTY SWEET 'SWING!' SETS UP CAMP AT THE WILSHIRE.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

THE MALE DANCERS are still tall and rangy, the ladies more compact - but as capable as ever of being ``swing, swang, swung'' for two solid hours. William Ivey Long's costumes - be they zoot suits or standard GI wear - are as bright and brassy as ever, and the four principal singer/dancers still get the choicest duds.

Truth be told, the national tour of Lynn Taylor-Corbett's ``Swing!'' that buzzes through the Wilshire Theatre this week isn't substantially different from the first national tour that kicked off at the Ahmanson two years ago. Credit the show's ensemble nature for the still-high quality. With a strong crop of dancers in a dance-heavy show, much can be forgiven.

``Swing!'' is, after all, a celebratory history lesson of music and movement: from West Coast to East Coast, Lindy Hopping to jitterbugging. Salsa and Texarcana even creep in. The hairstyles and, occasionally, the costumes may be relentlessly modern, but the songs, moves and sensibilities are of decades past, and hardly forgotten. Lori Steinberg, picking up the director's baton from original helmer Taylor-Corbett, delivers a production with a choice blend of joy, friskiness and sass.

Among the stand-outs: Lori Barber, embodying a bass fiddle brought slinkily to life in ``Harlem Nocturn'' and playing a heartbroken third wheel in ``Blues in the Night.'' Teresa Froelich and Nicky Venditti nearly put each other in traction in the cheeky courtship of Duke Ellington's ``Dancers in Love.''

The earlier production had better voices among its four leads. At the Wilshire, sultry Ashley Hunt hit more than a few sour notes during her rendition of Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer's ``Skylark,'' and Hunt's ``Cry Me a River'' duet with trombonist Mark Miller comes off more strident than playful. Clarolyn Maier, looking a bit constrained in some of her costumes, does fitting torch song duty in the aforementioned ``Blues ...'' and she scats expertly with Chase Steele Greye in Ellington's ``Bli-Blip.''

Gone this time around is the segment that made ``Swing's'' poster image: earthbound males tossing their bungee-harnessed female partners to the strains of Bill Elliott's ``Bill's Bounce.'' The song is still present, performed by music director Doug Oberhamer's on-stage band.

SWING! - Three stars

Where: Wilshire Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills.

When: 8 tonight, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday; through Sunday.

Tickets: $32 to $57. Call [phone].

In a nutshell: Get ``in the mood'' once again.