It was a perfect storm of a "Pippin" staging Saturday night at the Camarillo Airport theater.

As the lights dimmed and Camarillo Community Theatre prepared to perform the Stephen Schwartz musical, the audience was told that director-choreographer Jeff Wallach would be playing the key role of Charlemagne, with Paul Babb returning for performances from the July 4 weekend through the final July 27 curtain. Then, a man appeared at the accompanist's keyboard and was announced as Lance Merrill. (Marilyn Anderson is music director for the show.) Early in the first act, a heavy stage light fell from an overhead grid and landed at the feet of Wallach and Gabriel Corbin, who plays the devilishly charismatic Leading Player in the whimsical overlay on the simple plot.

The replacements and mishaps could have easily derailed the show, but they were handled well. Camarillo's production suffered little from Wallach's being drafted to play Charlemagne. The actor has demonstrated his quick wit and often-amusing takes on characters on a number of county stages. Even though at one point he was leafing through the lyrics and score as he sang, he filled the role with scarcely a detectable glitch. Wallach reacted with aplomb to the hurtling stage light, even incorporating it into his lyrics, a spirit swiftly shared by Corbin, who played along and even carefully toted off the miscreant light.

Except for the fact that it was over-amped, especially in the first act, and forced singers to almost shout their songs rather than sing them, Merrill's keyboard playing was supportive and, given the circumstances, impressively solid. In various scenes, for whatever reason, an offstage recorded accompaniment was employed.

"Pippin" bowed on Broadway in 1972, touching the country's vein of discontent with war as a convenient solution to international problems, and retains relevance on the subject.

The show, featuring such hits as "Corner of the Sky" and "Day by Day," had grown out of a student production co-created by Schwartz who, by the age of 24, had seen both "Godspell" and "Pippin" open on Broadway. (Schwartz also wrote the songs for "Wicked" and, much more recently, the incidental music for Rubicon Theatre's mounting of a play based on Willa Cather's "My Antonia.")

The biggest problem with Camarillo's show is Wallach's all-too-raunchy choreography, which begins with suggestive moves that soon become needlessly blatant. Costuming goes along with the drift, with the (mostly) bare-chested young men clad in tight-tights, and the women of The Players also poured into their costumes. It's not that the singer-dancers don't work hard and carry out the conception; it's just that the movement is too much like a Chippendales show. Most of the dance segments go on for what seems like an eternity; it's possible that trimming the time could actually make it look better and more directly fit the purpose.

Amid all this, there are some well-honed performances. Corbin is outstanding as the Leading Player, an excellent singer and actor, a vivid dancer and even a bit of a magician, all of which makes him the focus whenever he is on stage.

The leading women singers all have fine voices and play their various roles well: Candace Gray as the conniving wife of Charlemagne and mother of the second in line for succession, Lewis; Stine Odegard as the wholesome widow who, with her son, Theo (Elijah Holmes), entices Pippin, Charlemagne's firstborn, to sample the simple virtues of life when he has turned from its more lascivious attractions; and Juanita Seavey as Pippin's grandmother, who takes care of the imbalance between keyboard music and vocals by carrying her own personal microphone in her handbag.

In the title role, Adam DeWinter sings loudly enough to rise above the accompaniment and acts like the innocent growing into a man that Pippin is supposed to be. Bryan Seabert as Lewis has the comic touch and athleticism to fill in the caricature of the bloodthirsty son who's born to battle.

All in all, the cast gets good marks for gusto and being good sports, and director Wallach deserves kudos for a viable performance as Charlemagne while also juggling other responsibilities. It's just that where graphic dancing is called for, less is more. It has to be said that there were some in the audience who seemed delighted with the entire concept. Thankfully, none of them were among the 12-and-younger for whom the show is not recommended.

— E-mail Rita Moran at ritamoran@earthlink.net.