The kooky cast of the musical comedy Group Therapy, produced by the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco.

Where’s the unity in our Community?! Well, right smack dab within the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco (“LGCSF”)! In their wryly witty, musical comedy Group Therapy, with music and lyrics by local lesbian writer June Bonacich, the neuroses that divide us also provide a common ground for getting together and working it out. The LGCSF recently reprised their comic tribute to dysfunctional behavior in its many manifestations and our “concerted“ efforts in overcoming it. And it’s all lighter than air and great fun! Mounted at Theatre Rhino as a benefit for their trip to Chicago to perform the show during the Gay Games, Group Therapy had a wildly-enthusiastic, sold-out crowd!

Poor young Katie. Her boyfriend dumped her, and she and her best female friend have grown quite close. And she’s hoping they’ll get closer! Is she a lesbian? So, setting out on a journey of self-discovery, Katie goes to the Castro and attends a group therapy session to listen and learn. True to form, each character checks in, and conflicts immediately arise. They each struggle with their own “complex” issues, and yet they generously offer a bounty of self-taught psychoanalysis to solve the others’ “simple” problems. As the characters take turns musically reenacting their “dramas,” the voyeuristic audience can sit back and vicariously enjoy the humorous psycho-twists and turns.

Though these are not professional actors, all the performers offer strong commitments to their characters. Especially good is Shane J. Kroll, who gives good comic timing and some very humorous background business. Keep an eye on him. As the angry young lesbian, Sharon Gong postures with all the right moves. Wendy Tobias portrays the potentially new lesbian with eagerness and good cheer, a great counterpoint to the group’s jaded regular members. Mark Higgins growls out a tough-and-gruff mean guy with a fistful of anger issues. And as the timid one, Scott Turco sings and dances like a pro. Noam Szoke embodies the shy optimist replete with politically-correct solutions, and Remy Timbrook portrays a woman who appreciates a good time.

Overall, the music and lyrics by June Bonacich are lots of fun with just enough comic twists to keep us guessing and actively involved. When a character sings of inner pain in “Looking Back,” the chorus provides ironic or bitchy rejoinders. Occasionally, bits of dialogue are extraneously repeated (virtually verbatim) in the lyrics of the very next song. And when that same text appears in the oft-repeated refrain, the play’s forward movement is derailed. “What More Can I Ask For?” is a lovely tune, beautifully sung by Sharon Gong, but too short! “He’s Chicken” features some hysterically funny visuals as does “The Transference Tango” where the Chorus gets to shake their collective stuff. Great stage pictures also abound in “Dysfunctional Relationship.” And as one character soulfully sings of inner pain (for three years) in “It’s So Clear Now,” the rest prepare to mass suicide from boredom. They then tie it all up sweetly with a resolutely upbeat “As I Say Yes to Life.”

Musical direction by Stephanie Lynne Smith is consistently strong. And she flawlessly accompanies on the electric keyboard, onstage throughout the show. Michael Mohammed directs with an appreciation of chorus-style presentation, which he blends with a theatrical mounting. This hybrid approach works beautifully for an informal, community-based project, but if the show is to be professionally mounted in the future, the emphasis will need to be on theatre. And multi-tasking Mohammed’s choreography is always creative and clever, garnering many of the evening’s biggest laughs.

Group Therapy combines savvy understanding of our human foibles as well as lots of laughs. So if you happen to be in the Windy City for business and/or fun (including the Gay Games), check them out. But hopefully, the LGCSF will re-mount Group Therapy sometime soon after they return. With some tightening and a modified staging, it will provide a perkily pleasant night of musical theatre.

Group Therapy plays July 14 and 16 (Fri. and Sun.) at the Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. Tix ($15) call (415) 861-7067. For more info on this show and other Lesbian/Gay Chorus of SF events, go to www.lgcsf.org