Ray Cooney is Britain’s “master of farce”. He has had some seventeen plays performed on the West End, including Run For Your Wife, which ran for nine years and became its longest running comedy. Mr. Cooney may be in his 70’s but he is still full of creativity. He has just produced Tom, Dick, and Harry, which he co-wrote with his successful screenwriter son, and now he has opened a new musical (his first), Twice Upon A Time, at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, with plans to open productions in London, New York, and possibly Vegas.

Twice Upon A Time isn’t strictly a farce, though it has the farcical and bawdy elements for which Mr. Cooney is so well known. The musical also has a dramatic side, concerning matters of fidelity, psychiatry, past lives, and the idea of being willing to die for another as a sign of true love. The story concerns a young, hapless lawyer, Mr. Steven Tancred. Engaged to the boss’s daughter, he undergoes hypnosis to quit smoking but instead is transported back in time to 1929, where he is the getaway driver for the infamous Bugs Moran. Here all the fun and struggles begin.

I don’t want to spoil the plot, but it involves lovers in both time zones and the complications that ensue when Steven realizes that his past-life character, Johnny May, and the girl he loves might be heading for a bloody end. The musical jumps back and forth between these two time zones, with several actors playing dual roles as separate characters in each zone. This leads to even more confusion and misunderstanding. If you think of the twin zones as the two doors that are usually part of any farce, you can see the possibility of some awfully funny business.

The cast features Broadway and television veterans Millicent Martin, Misty Cotton, Sam Zeller, Robert Machray, and Jennifer Malenke, as well as Jeffrey Rockwell, Brandon Michael Perkins, Monica Smith, Kevin Symons, Carly Nykanen, and Danny Bolero. Yes, that Robert Machray is yours truly. Suffice it to say I’m marvelous as Steven’s boss. But more to the point I wanted to point out some of the fine work being done by the rest of the aforementioned cast, especially by newcomer Brandon Perkins (Steven) who has a beautiful sweet voice and an endearing acting style. He should have a nice career. It is also an honor and a pleasure to work with the veteran Millicent Martin who sparkles in her role as the daft Mrs. Clark, an “obstinate old bat whose wretched cottage is standing in the way of a fifteen million pound half-completed shopping mall”. Steven has been assigned by his boss, me, to get her off the land.

Written by lyricist Mary Stewart-David and composer Chris Walker, the varied and hummable songs evoke everything from the music of the “Roaring Twenties” to Sondheim - something for everyone. Musical director Dennis Castellano and choreographer Karen Nowicki round out the creative team. Playing at until March 2.