‘Bad Boys’ Make Good : Lively Fratelli Bologna Whoop It Up at Squeaky-Clean Disneyland

The four members of Fratelli Bologna have gained a reputation as the “bad boys” of San Francisco’s busy improv scene.

Their retelling of the Nativity story in the annual “A Bologna Christmas” has been described as “blasphemous” by both of San Francisco’s major daily newspapers, the Chronicle and the Examiner. Their Commedia Bowl, which satirizes another sacred American holiday--Super Bowl Sunday--has become a tradition, as has the Bologna-inspired St. Stupid’s Day Parade, which winds through the city’s financial district each April 1.

So just what is this irreverent foursome doing in squeaky-clean Disneyland?

That depends on what time of day you catch them. In matching yellow-and-purple letterman’s sweaters, William Hall, Richard Dupell, John X. Heart and Drew Letchworth are the Drama Club, a collection of high school social types. They also prowl Main Street decked out as ‘50s youths with greased hair, or on stilts as members of the Bobcats basketball team--all named Bob. In this guise they give Disneyland its newest E-ticket attraction, the thrilling “Tunnel of Bob,” in which visitors line up to walk under their legs.

Troupe member Hall calls it “trolling for fun.” It’s all part of Disneyland’s ‘50s salute, “Blast to the Past,” through June 18.

The group first performed at Disneyland in 1988 as part of the first “Blast to the Past.” Members of the theme park’s marketing department had seen Fratelli Bologna on stage in San Francisco, and discussions between the troupe and the park started soon after. But because most of Disneyland’s so-called “atmosphere entertainment” is tightly scripted, the idea of a renegade improv group known for sometimes-risque material made some park officials nervous.

“We were a risky venture,” Dupell admitted.

Fratelli Bologna came to Disneyland for a weekend audition and quickly got into some hot water with the operations department. One set of stock Fratelli characters, a team of elderly Jewish acrobats, managed to violate unwritten rules against both ethnic and geriatric humor--and besides that, it drew such crowds that pedestrian traffic stopped.

“We shut down New Orleans Square. They couldn’t get around us,” Hall said. The troupe committed another no-no by freely crossing boundaries separating the park’s various lands. “All of a sudden, we were cowboys in front of the castle,” Hall said.

When the group was hired for “Blast to the Past,” it was allowed to create its own characters--although Disneyland got the final OK. “There was definitely some give-and-take on that,” said park spokesman John C. McClintock.

There were times in the first year that the troupe managed to run afoul of the operations folks--such as the rainy day when members took huge umbrellas from a Main Street restaurant to escort groups of visitors through the park. But this year, when the delayed opening of the new thrill ride Splash Mountain prompted a last-minute resurrection of “Blast to the Past,” Fratelli Bologna were invited back.

According to Letchworth, the group asked for and got more artistic license this time around and is even training a group of nine Disneyland performers in improvisation techniques. And this year, the people in operations have apparently gotten used to the group’s antics. “All of a sudden, they’ve become our buddies,” Heart said. The group members, he said, have gone from “rebels to role models.”

“This is one of the first times that a self-contained group has been given (this) kind of freedom,” McClintock said.

Disneyland executives are rediscovering that “you can do a family show and still be creative,” he added. “I think that’s something that Walt Disney always knew, but that the company perhaps wasn’t tuned into in the years after his death.”

Because Fratelli Bologna do not rely on set routines, going instead with improvised banter with park visitors, it can be difficult to stay within Disneyland standards. “It’s been an exciting challenge to keep our material clean,” Hall said.

“Occasionally, you’re going to cross over into some less-than-tasteful material,” Dupell said--but the crowd immediately lets the performers know. He said the rule is, “If it’s questionable, leave it out.”

Despite the constraints, members of the group said the Disneyland stint has been a positive experience. “People are ready to have fun,” Hall said, and performing five times a day, five days a week is invaluable experience.

After “Blast to the Past” closes, the group hopes to continue training Disneyland performers in improvisation techniques. The group also plans to continue its theatrical productions in San Francisco and do more work in video and film productions (Fratelli Bologna, then a seven-member group, played the press corps in the film version of “The Right Stuff”).

But first, Heart joked, taking a line from recent sports heroes: “We’re going to Disneyland!”

“Blast to the Past” continues through Sunday at Disneyland, 1818 N. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim. Tickets, including admission to all rides and attractions, is $18.50 to $23.50. Information (714) 999-4565.