Comfort Comedy

What is it about a play that makes you forgive corny musical interludes, unattractive sets and some so-so performances?

Humor? Likable characters? Empathy, perhaps?

Whatever it is, “Ma” has just enough of it.

“Ma,” at the Third Stage Theatre in Burbank, is the creation of husband-and-wife team Roy and Tree Washburne and it is, true to its advertising, a “feel-good comedy.” The setting is Ma’s house in Jersey City, where her three children and their respective significant others gather for Christmas. There are secrets to be revealed, betrayals to be discovered and crises to be solved.

Co-writer and director Roy Washburne calls himself an “up-and-coming Neil Simon clone,” when perhaps “aspiring” might be the better description. The script has some of the sentimentality that Simon’s plays have shown in recent years, but the jokes don’t have quite the precision.

Still, there are a lot of laughs to be had. “Ma” has the feel of a good community theater show, a sense of down-home warmth like that created by the Christmas lights on the theater walls. You can’t help but like it.

Ma (Bobbie Norman) is a Catholic widow facing financial trouble. She invested in a condo that--on Christmas Eve--the bank has foreclosed on. But she’s going to sell her jewelry to make the payments and avoid bankruptcy.

The children arrive with their own issues. The sweet daughter Alena (Gretchen Morgan) and her husband Neil (Brett Elliott) are trying to make it as actors in Los Angeles. Shiftless Eddie (Noah Wagner) is dating a southern Baptist woman, Dixie (Lisa Records), who is shocked by nearly everything that transpires. Nette (Christine Kane in the show reviewed, Brenda Edelman in future performances) and her girlfriend have decided to have a pagan commitment ceremony, news that will shock old Italian grandma Filomena (Rosina Pinchot).

Throw into the mix the drug-addicted loser Vinnie (Gary Cusano)--Ma’s brother-in-law--whose neglected daughter Carmella (Sierra Billou) lives with Ma.

It seems like a lot of people to keep track of, and it is, but by the end of the first act, the characters and formula are in place. There are a few surprises--a Wicca ritual in the middle of a Christmas play, for one--but mostly “Ma” delivers what you expect.

As Ma, Norman truly holds everything together. She seems comfortable in the role of the ever-understanding mother, and moves through the chaos of her on-stage family with grace. Pinchot is particularly funny as the staunch Catholic grandmother with the heavy accent. The role could be a cliche, but she gives it personality.

The first act runs a little long, and one wonders if a little dramaturgy couldn’t even up the two halves. Roy Washburne keeps his sizable cast moving, though, and things only really slow down for a few songs in Act I and for some Christmas carols in Act II.

Sure, the walls are a terrible shade of pink and the main door looks as if it was swiped from the Magic Kingdom at Disneyland. Most car stereos have better sound systems than the Third Stage Theater. And Grandma had spotty results with her gray hair spray.

As dramatic meals go, “Ma” is not duck a l’orange. It’s more meat loaf--the kind of comfort food that satisfies now and then.

When, at the end, Ma says that she’s the richest woman in town, the allusion to “It’s a Wonderful Life” can’t be missed. But it’s perfectly appropriate. Ma is a regular George Bailey, a treat for the holidays.

BE THERE

“Ma,” Third Stage Theater, 2811 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m., through Dec. 13. $15. (818) 705-2370.