THEATER REVIEW : More Operatic High Jinks From B.J. Ward

Call it Soprano With Shtick. Or Arias With Attitude. But no matter what you duJ. Ward’s “More Stand-Up Opera,” it’s unlike any one-woman show that’s come down the pike lately. (Except, of course, last season’s “Stand-Up Opera,” which debuted the concept.) A noble seamstress and an ailing courtesan cough themselves to death. A devout singer throws herself off a precipice after a firing squad mows down her boyfriend. A penniless wife freezes to death.

Sound like a Ms. magazine nightmare? Well, hold onto your ERA buttons, please. Nobody ever said opera heroines had it easy.

But then again, nobody thought all this distaff death was grist for a cabaret act either--until Ward came along, that is. Part elegant recital and part nightclub routine, “More Stand-Up Opera” at the Pasadena Playhouse intercuts arias with banter. It adores opera as much as it skewers it. And it’s a grand showcase for this classy, funny soprano.

With her able musical director Michael Sushel seated at a shiny black piano on one side and a small table with a vase full of red roses on it on the other, Ward begins the show by introducing herself as our “designated diva.” In two acts, she waltzes us through compelling renditions of some of the most seductive numbers in the opera canon, including Tosca’s “Vissi d’arte,” “O mio babbino caro” from “Gianni Schicchi” and the flower duet from “Lakme,” in which she sings both parts (really).

In between these numbers, Ward undercuts the tragic stories of death, disease, poverty and violent love with chat. Irreverent but smart, she conveys a passion for the music even as she lays out what’s actually going on in these operas--which is mostly women dying--in such a way that you see the plots’ absurdity. It’s a peach of a primer in applied feminist criticism.

Still, no matter how cutesy the concept, Ward wouldn’t pull it off if she weren’t a first-rate performer. Charming and informative, she explains just enough to give you the skinny on what’s going on in the songs, without slowing up the pace. Her singing of even the treacherous selections is more than up to par.

But what really sets this routine apart is that Ward--unlike most sopranos in their normal habitats--actually acts the roles in each aria. She’s an earnest Mimi, a vixen Carmen, a lovesick Gilda and one tempest of a Tosca.

Opera lovers (like this reviewer) will lap it up. But Ward’s routine is for the uninitiated too. You couldn’t ask for a more painless intro to the world of Violetta, Lakme and Baby Doe. It’s quick, easy and fun. You don’t get a crick in your neck trying to read supertitles. You don’t have to pretend to know the libretto. And it’s a lot cheaper than what you’ll pay to hear the fatter ladies warble in their usual haunts.

* “More Stand-Up Opera,” Upstairs at the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m., Sundays 5:30 p.m. Ends May 16. $20. (818) 356-PLAY. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.