Oh, Carol!

Other than a few playful touches vis-à-vis the gender of supporting roles, director Joey Berner doesn't create any atmosphere -- camp or otherwise. Nor does he, as set designer, create any set to speak of, even though there is one. And with the exception of Beverly Hutchison, who's so bizarre in such roles as Irish's rummy father, a garish society matron and a cheesy nightclub owner that she's straight out of Twin Peaks, the supporting cast is functional, at best.

But Busch's grande dame wit rears its beautiful/ugly head repeatedly, if sporadically. ("Funny, I've spent five years making zippers," Irish says about the old days. "Now I get paid for pulling them down." A typical putdown: "I can see by your posture how a washerwoman hump will develop.") And even when the writing lacks style or substance, Menchaca looks terrific delivering it, particularly when wearing a red dress and flouncing around in as many directions as the frills that cover the outfit. It's to our amusement that Menchaca and Irish O'Flanagan love to play dress-up.

A Christmas Carol plays through December 31 at the Alley Theatre, 615 Texas Avenue, 228-8421.

Sing a Christmas Song plays through December 31 at Mid Town Art Center, 3414 La Branch, 520-0055.

Times Square Angel plays through December 23 at The Actors Workshop, 1009 Chartres, 236-1844.