"Love" is a strong word; "like" more readily springs to mind when one reflects on the pluses and minuses of this frequently funny yet scattered effort, a behind-the-scenes sendup of L.A.'s. 99-Seat theatre arena. Is there a substantial audience for a play in which local theatre insiders are those likeliest to catch the jokes? Sy Rosen perhaps had this challenge in mind when he devised a script that attempts too many things: It's a courtroom whodunit coupled with a giddy satire that almost seems to begin taking itself (gasp!) seriously in the second act, as if it were a small-theatre take on A Chorus Line.

Under David Jay Berry's direction, Rosen's conceit works best when striving for the simplest: poking goofy fun at the desperate measures of actors struggling to gain a foothold in the showbiz jungle. The story begins with the onstage killing of the artistic director in a 40-seat San Fernando Valley theatre, then switches to a courtroom. The unfolding events are shown in flashback. Name-dropping gags about local theatres (Evidence Room) and impresarios (Justin Tanner) hit the bull's-eye. Likewise hilarious are scenes from knucklehead productions devised by the fictional company: a sympathetic drama about convicted murderer Scott Peterson, who is visited by the ghost of his slain wife, Laci; one actor's solo-show love letter to Condoleezza Rice; a gay take on "We Kiss in a Shadow" from The King and I. In a shameless bit of double artistic larceny, there are parodies of songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!-ground already well-covered in Tanner's Oklahomo!.

A high-spirited ensemble works hard to surmount second-act doldrums, when the comic momentum begins to sag. As the doomed artistic director, Stephen Ferguson is a nimble farceur, especially when cavorting through the group's productions-from-hell. Jason Ryan Lovett and Bree Pavey deftly exchange wry quips as the defense attorney and prosecutor, respectively. Barbara Keegan delights in a droll cameo as a witness from the theatre's audience. We're eager to see whether the show pulls off the feat suggested by its title, as a critic from the Weekly sat in the front row on opening night.

Presented by 3KO Broadway Theatre Company at the Whitmore-Lindley Theatre. 11006 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m. May 12-Jun. 17. (818) 685-9939.