Before it was a tame-though-cutesy television sitcom that ran forever and still can be seen in syndication on most any channel after 10 pm, M*A*S*H was a brilliant and bitingly satirical anti-war film by Robert Altman. Before that, it was a controversial and bitingly satirical novel by Richard Hooker. In between the novel and the film, though, came a vapid stage comedy by Tim Kelly, one that used all of the colorful characters and hilarious plot of the book as an outline and genericized the hell out of it. Don't expect the strong anti-war statements of the original book and the movie or even the consistent quick wit of the sitcom when coming to see Tempe Little Theatre's production of M*A*S*H. Come instead to see promising director Damon Dering and a generally transplanted NNT cast trying their best to garner as many laughs and contextually strained innuendos as possible from so-so material. The result is a pleasant evening with several titters and the occasional guffaw that isn't better than the play's sources, but is at least better than seeing Alan Alda act sensitive-though-snappy once more.

They're all there: Hawkeye, Hot Lips, Frank Burns, Radar, Father Mulcahy, and Colonel Blake. There are a few others that carried over from the novel and the movie that didn't make the cut into the sitcom, such as Hawkeye's original sidekick Duke, Korean houseboy Ho-Jon, too-sexy-for-his-fatigues Ugly, football great and ringer Spearchucker Jones, and temporary Head Nurse McCarthy. Cutups Hawkeye and Duke are foisted on an unsuspecting Blake and proceed to make the M*A*S*H 4077 effective in the surgery and an insane asylum around the camp itself with their practical jokes and anti-Army attitudes.

The show does have its share of funny and touching moments. Mr. Dering has collected a generally strong cast that try to infuse this mediocre material with some charge. The word I consistently heard raiding the éclairs during intermission and while filing out after the show was "cute." This is a compliment to Mr. Dering and his cast, who are able to wring that much from what they were dealt.

Jason Barth and Eric Urbauer do great work as Hawkeye and Duke. They hit all of their laugh lines well, and don't try to recreate past performances. David Weiss is an excellent Burns, playing the ramrod straight nutcase with glee. Eric Zaklukiewicz channels the familiar looks of Radar, but brings enough of his own to avoid imitation. Sandy Elias does a good job as a blustery Blake, and Daniel Gallai does what he can to avoid stereotyping as Ho-Jon. A subdued Andi Watson gives a solid presentation of Nurse McCarthy. Most of the remainder of the ensemble is at least serviceable and consistent.

Three disappointments of presentation include Jennifer Bemis as Hot Lips, Cisco Saavedra as Ugly, and Rick Shipman as General Hammond. I suspect that Mr. Dering has asked for certain presentation styles, but Ms. Bemis and Mr. Shipman's are overly presentational in comparison to the level of the others. While Ms. Bemis creates a completely new take on Hot Lips, the result inexplicably seems to be a total whack job in desperate need of a Section 8. Mr. Saavedra, on the other hand, simply doesn't have the acting strength to believably pull off the studly Ugly, coming off as a phony phony in the process.

Laura Troyan's set is a clever use of nets covering a rolling platform and two side locations to supplement the main presentation areas, though they are a bit loud in positioning. Bob Nelson's lights and sound design are consistent. Teri Krawitz' costumes are also consistent, especially for the visiting Bonwit sisters, if a bit ragged in spots.

It's a pity Mr. Dering wasn't able to bring more of his own to this potentially highly entertaining evening. This is a script in need of some creativity. What he does have to work with, though, he makes "cute," which is acceptable for a night at Tempe Little Theatre.