‘Cyberqueer’ Returns With Lighter Touches in Its Zings

The return engagement of “Cyberqueer” at the Celebration is frothier and far funnier than the original 1996 production.

When lovelorn linguistics professor Nelson (Brian Quinn) decides to go online looking for action, he winds up in a gay and lesbian chat room presided over by the formidable Wicca (flamboyantly campy Jennifer Taub), a latter-day goddess who rules the ether of cyberspace with all the finesse of a New Age Nazi. In the guise of his idealized alter-ego Thor (Paul Landry), Nelson sifts through the kinkier operatives of the chat room until he meets and falls in love with the mysterious Darkhorse (Scott Utley). Darkhorse epitomizes Nelson’s romantic fantasies, but his identity IRL (In Real Life) remains a secret until the surprise ending.

Playwright Tom Jacobson (who originally presented his piece under the pseudonym Jake Specchio) hasn’t tinkered with his risque comedy much, beyond some zingy new one-liners and general text tightening. However, in addition to the tightening comes a lightening of the play’s previous heavy-handedness. Paradoxically, the tongue-in-cheek levity punches up the play’s audacious and often graphically mature themes of loneliness, sexual depersonalization and social isolation in an increasingly technological age.

Although director Mark Bringelson has not radically altered his staging, he brings an evolved sense of silliness to this production, which has been salubriously recast in several key roles. In particular, there is now a sweetly romantic chemistry between Nelson and his fellow academic Wally (David Shofner) that makes the formerly strained surprise ending much more believable. As before, Sherri Grider’s flashy costumes contribute greatly to the outrageous fun, as do Frank McKown’s lighting, Joe Fusco’s technical design and Jeffrey Brown’s sound.

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* “Cyberqueer,” Celebration Theatre, 7051 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 10:30 p.m. Ends March 28. $15. (213) 660-8587. Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.