A Toe-tapping good time> ‘Pump Boys and Dinettes’ down-home hootenanny

Break out the cowboy hat and get ready to scream “yahoo” if you plan to go to “Pump Boys and Dinettes,” which the Maine Masque opened over the weekend and will perform again this week in Hauck Auditorium at the University of Maine.

A hopping, rocking, pull-up-a-chair-and-set-awhile country music revue, “Pump Boys and Dinettes” is led by a tuneful bunch of student actors eagerly trying out their talents. It’s a little bit Tammy Wynette, a little bit cold fried chicken, a lot of pecan pie and some y’all-come-back-now hospitality — which blends together for a down-home hootenanny.

The show, which takes place at the Double Cup Diner on Highway 57 “somewhere between Frog Level and Smyrna,” doesn’t have a plot. Instead, it has 18 original songs put together by a team of writers in 1981 for an off-off-Broadway run. (It eventually made its way to Broadway.) A glorified stand-at-mikes concert, “Pump Boys and Dinettes” also has an adventurous band of gas-station attendants, some tap-dancing waitresses, a bunch of insult slinging and a whole lot of polyester. But the show doesn’t go anywhere or do anything or leave you with any sense of moral enlightenment.

And thank goodness. As a cut-loose, song-and-dance routine between hard-working friends, whose trailer-park lives have some heart and soul at the town watering hole, “Pump Boys and Dinettes” is a white-trash gala. Think of “Hee Haw” and you’ve pretty much got the picture.

Director Sandra Hardy commandeers this production with a keen eye for the frank and clever ways of folks who are still hoping Elvis will show up for breakfast. Her actors have spunk and fearlessness, and throw themselves into the rootsy charm of this country-and-western delight. A show this corny takes nothing less than total absorption in quirky characterization, and that’s where Hardy’s cast excels. They are as twangy as a tall glass of lemonade with just a dash of sugar in it.

In fact, picking a favorite among them is a mighty hard task. The lanky Kristen Williams, who wears a hot-pink miniskirt and a clashing red beehive, is everything you expect from a Wal-Mart woman. She’s funny and giddy and just cracking her bubble gum waiting for a chance to trip the light fantastic. When Williams combines her singing voice with that of Jennifer Drew’s Patsy, who wears a back brace but can shake her booty like nobody’s business, it’s a darn-tootin’ good time.

The real silken voices, however, belong to Sandra Howard (Prudie) and Christina Blake (Rhetta). Aaron Hermes, as the aw-shucks-folks darling, is a sweet singer and has a goofus smile that says Gomer Pyle all the way. He also plays a mean bass guitar.

Other hot spots belong to Jeremy J. Leclerc, a lead guitarist whose idol is The King; Anthony Pierce, who has a Buddy Holly thing going on; and Daniel Williams, the ever-able music director and piano player. (Bless him, too, for not letting the band drown out the singers.)

Chris Snipe, as the auto mechanic Slim, has no rhythm, can’t sing and looks pretty silly in shiny silver dance pants. And he rightfully gets the biggest laughs of the show.

The harmonies in this ensemble piece are a treat. You won’t be able to keep your toes from tapping and your face from laughing. This is the kind of theater that works on a very basic level of entertainment. The actors are clearly having a blast as they croon out their songs and chat with the audience.

Yessir. It’s some safe to say you know they’ll treat you nice down at the Double Cup.

Maine Masque will present “Pump Boys and Dinettes” noon Feb. 20, 8 p.m. Feb. 21 and 22, and 2 p.m. Feb. 23 in Hauck Auditorium at the University of Maine. For tickets, call 581-1773.