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Magic lamps spoke, bullets flew, geisha girls tittered and rubber chickens dangled as four hapless party guests — not to mention the audience — -repeated a bullet-riddled cocktail hour over and over again in the Pelican Players’ production of the farcical “Who’s On First” at the Norris Center on Friday night.

The premise of this loopy adventure is simple enough. Plans for four people to gather at a New York apartment for a party are undone by an insanely jealous husband, who, with the help of a magic lamp and some kooky sound effects, starts the daisy chain of I-wish-it-had-happened-this-way scenarios rolling.

Think something in the vein of “Groundhog Day,” although the trifling “Who’s on First,” written by Jack Sharkey, has been around since 1975.

Much of the comedy comes — or should come — from seeing the same characters in unexpected situations, trying on a parade of wacky costumes and rolling their tongues around a litany of bizarre accents. This is no comedy of manners or slamming doors, nor a polite bantering of wordplay. It is a strap-on-the-snorkel-and-dive into the ocean of funny farce. Sadly, the cast sometimes seemed afraid to venture out of the shallow end of the comedy pool.

I know I’ve said this before, but the success of farce depends almost purely on the execution. The best script in the world isn’t going to go far without a cast and a director who understand each word, every line and all the gestures must be grand and outsized. There is no expectation of subtlety or nuance from the audience, only a riot of laughter.

The moments when the cast forgets to “act” and simply goes with the insane spirit of farce are laugh-out-loud funny. The rest, such as the stilted opening sequence that sets the play in motion, falls flat.

As the alleged adulterous wife Alice, Amy Garbarino-Tate has a knack for the exaggerated gesture of the genre. Whether playing cougar to a love-struck teen or as a tittering Japanese wife, she was consistently the brightest star on the stage. I loved her vampy come-hither scene as the sultry sexpot. How she poured herself into that slinky scarlet gown is beyond me.

Less polished but still game was James Ballard, who played Ben. The script pigeonholes his character somewhat, leaving others to drive the action and Ballard to react. Still, he delivers as a verbose schoolboy captivated by the charms of Garbarino-Tate’s predatory neighbor in one sequence and as a Mafia rat pleading for his life in another.

At times, David Surprenant (Don) and Susan Petr (Camille) played the show a bit too much as straightforward comedy, delivering their lines but not going the extra mile to take the turns of phrase from subtle to sizzle.

Surprenant was clearly nervous on stage, but hit it just right during a scene at a posh British dinner party and nailing a hillbilly accent in Act I.

Petr simply misses many of her chances to bring the funny. She had the chance to go completely over the top as a loopy Haitian psychic and didn’t take it. If you’re on stage wearing a nightgown with fabric wrapped around your head and sacrificing a rubber chicken, please, don’t hold back now.

“Who’s on First” is a cute show with more than a few laughs sprinkled throughout. A few discreet nudges could push the show from polite chuckle to whoops of laughter. I hope the cast gets those nudges.

Sacrificing rubber chickens already? Tell me what you think at csilk@naplesnews.com

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If you go

“Who’s on First”

What: Pelican Players’ production

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday, March 21 and 22;

2:30 p.m. March 22

Where: Norris Community Center, 755 Eighth Ave. S., Naples

Cost: $18

Information: 213-3049 or at pelicanplayers.com