The farce is with Buffalo Theatre Ensemble’s giddy crime comedy

“Unnecessary Farce” — 3.5 stars

After a stressful January replete with bad news and weather, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble’s “Unnecessary Farce” offers a cure for cabin fever.

The fast-paced comedy, which runs through March 1, throws together two inept cops staging a stakeout, a whistleblower accountant, and a lethal bagpiper scampering in and out of connecting hotel bedrooms.

But wait — there’s more.

Police officer Eric Sheridan (Brad Lawrence) hopes he can prove that crooked Mayor Meekly (Frank Nall) is embezzling millions from the town so he can redeem his stagnant career. His partner, Billie Dwyer (Laura Leonardo Ownby), is equally optimistic but hampered by her fear of guns.

Meanwhile, accountant Karen Brown (Lisa Dawn), who uncovered the financial hanky-panky, is willing to trap Meekly into spilling the beans while police secretly record him from the adjacent room.

A romantic dalliance complicates matters, as does the appearance of mayoral security guard Agent Frank (Bryan Burke), whose valor was crushed by the murderous Scottish mafia.

Farce requires timing and tightness to deliver laughs, and the cast builds momentum throughout the show with nary an off-beat door slam and well-choreographed slapstick.

Lawrence deftly portrays Sheridan’s angst-ridden journey with comic punch and is well-matched by Dawn’s ardent number-cruncher.

Stumbling into the romance is Burke, who conveys the cowardly lion contradictions of Agent Frank convincingly.

Ownby, as Billie, shines in her interactions translating sinister Scottish mafioso Todd’s ridiculously thick brogue that’s nicely handled by David Scott Crawford, replacing Robert Koon in the role Sunday.

Drifting in and out of the chaos is Nall’s delightful Mayor Meekly, whose deadpan geniality adds to the dysfunction.

Little touches earned guffaws, such as a deadly, pistol-toting chase that bogs down while the less agile combatants (credit to Doreen Dawson as Mary Meekly) awkwardly clamber over a motel bed.

Director Kurt Naebig described the play as “a cross between ‘Law and Order’ and Monty Python,” in a preview video. The show is “just goofy, funny. If there’s a message, I guess it’s that honesty pays off in the end. But it really is mostly about bringing people in, getting them to laugh,” he said.

Based on the audience’s response, the farce was with the cast.

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Location: Buffalo Theatre Ensemble at the McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, (630) 942-4000, btechicago.com, atthemac.org

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through March 1

Tickets: $45 for adults, $43 for seniors

Running time: About 2 hours, with intermission

Rating: Contains adult themes and language