Kitchen Witches

This is a broad comedy about two competing cable cooking divas thrown together as co-hosts of a new show. Their simmering animosity toward each other boils over to the delight of the audience—both the fictional cable audience and the real California Stage theater audience. Described as an integration of Martha Stewart and Jerry Springer, the comedy is a hoot, mostly due to the comedic talents of the two lead actresses—Deborah Shalhoub and Michele Koehler, who keep the show going even after the story begins to lose steam. This is a campy show with exaggerated humor—the puns are groaners, the antics over the top and there is not a pinch of subtlety in this comic confection. Though the material gets a bit tiresome, the energy and enthusiasm of the two stars never does. California Stage, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday; $15-$19. 1723 25th Street, (916) 451-5822, www.calstage.org. Through February 10.