Yes, with scads of topical jokes, including two mentions apiece of Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson and conservative legislator Chris Butters, all hung on a slightly developed storyline about Enola Gay, a Wells, Nev., madam with a secret past as a Mormon.

For a critical take, we've staged a face-off between staffers Brandon Griggs, Culture Vulture columnist, and theater critic Ellen Fagg, newly relocated to Salt Lake City after a decade living, well, in another state of mind.

The writers disagree about the success of the ending, but agree on this: Overall, there are plenty of funny lines and musical bombast in the show, which won't disappoint "Voyeur" veterans, although it treads familiar ground instead of digging deeply enough to plow new satirical furrows.

Clearly, not much is sacred in the "Voyeur" world, where Enola Gay threatens to build a brothel next to the Wendover airport, a town divided between two states that intends to rebrand itself with a family theme park. She's also holding another hand of secrets, a pair of children conceived during the excess of the now-repressed 1980s, when she bets her entrepreneurial skills against a sunglass-wearing, Mob-backed gentile from Las Vegas.

Religious or not, all characters work at the Pink Garter Casino, where they spy on guests, slaughter famous songs, see visions of a gang of Elvises in a meat locker, and corrupt a naive pair of newly transferred Mormon missionaries. The whole gang comes together in the big finale when they combine to entertain another mob, the hunting season's weekend widows.

And in another celebration of the launch of "Voyeur" season, we've teamed with KUER to launch the Elevate'R Music song parody contest. For rules and prizes, check out http://www.sltrib.com or http://www.KUER.org.

Ellen: To kick things off, my first question would be: Do people at SLAC ever get out much? I mean the opening-night performance of the 28th-edition of "Saturday's Voyeur" was great fun, the buzz of anticipation from the crowd, as well as the production values, the wit of the performers and the costumes, and the exuberance of the musical parodies. But the story seemed anachronistic, a retread of Mormon parodies, updated with ripped-from-the-headlines topical touches. Change a few details and I could have been watching the same story back in 1994. Agree?

Brandon: Yes and no. After most audiences rejected last year's "Voyeur," with its emphasis on national issues, writers Allen Nevins and Nancy Borgenicht retreated to the familiar Utah-centric material that SLAC audiences have come to expect. Maybe they retreated too far. I still can't believe the show ignored Larry H. Miller and "Brokeback Mountain" - not even one little joke. This "Voyeur" worked in plenty of recent references, from Kanab's natural-family resolution to Utah's own Playboy Playmate. But I don't think many people remember the Wendover family park stuff. And the "Life, Elevated" jokes got old fast.

So did you laugh? What amused you most?

Ellen: Add the "Deal or no deal" line to the overused cliche pile, too. More than the jokes, the plotline that stole the show was the budding romance between Enola Gay, (Colleen Baum), and the mob-sent family guy from Las Vegas, Pauli Gentilee (Morgan Lund). Lund even broke character with a few laughs himself a couple of times, obviously feeding off the crowd's appreciation of the hilarity.

I could watch Baum's humorous doubletakes forever. She's a master of feeding the humor of a line with her agile eyebrows and twisty mouth. And her part, as the ex-Mormon Madame, was "Voyeur's" best developed, most interesting character. She got all the best lines while revealing insight into Utah culture, such as when she explained that "Honey, around here the Church and the State - same difference. Welcome to Utah."

Do you agree with me that the plot and the jokes competed with each other, in that too-clever-by-half sort of way? If so, where did the cleverness work?

Brandon: Yeah, the show threatened to collapse midway through the second act under the weight of its convoluted plot mechanics. The whole Chuck the-meatseller-who-works-for-Melvin Dummar subplot felt shoehorned into the story, and the show also felt about 15 minutes too long.

I liked the way the Sinatra/Elvis/Sammy Davis Jr. songs fit the casino-town locale. And I agree that Baum's Enola was a hoot, holding the show together. I also liked Rock H. White's gleeful energy as Mission President Lamar, even though he gobbled scenery faster than Rick Majerus at Chuck-A-Rama.

Ellen: What about "Godzyka" and her teen Eaglets, singing "Smutbusters"? I liked the way Joe Welsch's arms are permanently folded, prayer-style, in judgment.

Brandon: I loved Welsch's constant look of smug disapproval as the Gayle Ruzicka character. He/she had some of my favorite lines, like the scornful "I don't read books."

I thought this "Voyeur" had less anti-LDS vitriol than previous shows. There were few Mormon food jokes, for example, beyond referring to the "scarf and barf" buffet. It poked a little fun at Baptists and Catholics, too, although the Baptist characters disappeared in the first 20 minutes, and the Catholic nun was just a recurring punchline. Did it feel mean-spirited to you?

Ellen: Only mean-spirited in its obviousness. I don't think I could find anything fresh, ever, in a randy Mormon missionary and his closeted gay companion. That horse has been beaten to death.

As a critic, what bugged me the most is the plot had all the necessary twists and paradoxical deliciousness built in to its formula, but the story kept veering up-on-the-sidewalk to make another joke, rather than trusting the humor of the parody. Such as that final number: Do we really need another set of repressed characters coming out in a strip tease?

Brandon: I thought the show rebounded with that clever finale, "Save a Horse (Ride a Mormon)," which sounds like a bumper sticker waiting to happen.

Ellen: I wish they'd go a bit deeper to hit on liberal, progressive smugness. Besides a few asides about Rocky getting another award from the enviros, that's a topic that seems like untapped territory in these parts.

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Contact Ellen Fagg at ellenf@sltrib.com and Brandon Griggs at griggs@sltrib.com. Send comments about this review to livingeditor@sltrib.com.

Review

Saturday's Voyeur 2006

Where: Salt Lake Acting Company, 168 W. 500 North, Salt Lake City

When: 7:30 p.m. for weeknight performances, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 20

Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes, plus 15-minute intermission

Tickets: $39-$44, available by calling 801-363-SLAC or 801-355-ARTS or visiting http://www.saltlakeactingcompany.org.

Bottom line: A throwback to the "Voyeur" franchise that's just naughty and funny enough to puff-up liberal pride and rough-up red-state sensibilities.