Terrence McNally has been known to become very upset when it's suggested that any of his plays is “gay themed,” but let's face facts: The Ritz is one of the gayest comedies ever written, even though most of the central characters happen to be straight. The Roundabout Theatre Company's current revival, at Studio 54, demonstrates further that this is McNally's masterpiece.

Set in a NYC bathhouse before the age of AIDS, The Ritz was first seen on Broadway in 1975 with a cast headed by Rita Moreno, Jack Weston, F. Murray Abraham, and Jerry Stiller, all of whom repeated their roles in the 1976 movie version. It's a knockabout farce detailing the comic mayhem that ensues when Gaetano Proclo, a poor sap from Cleveland, hides out at the titular bathhouse in order to avoid a mob hit ordered by his brother-in-law, Carmine Vespucci.

Of course, Proclo has no idea that The Ritz caters to a gay clientele. This makes for much fish-out-of-water hilarity as he encounters the establishment's colorful denizens, including Claude Perkins, the resident chubby chaser; Tiger and Duff, the near-twin bathhouse attendants; and Googie Gomez, a Latina “singer” who's so over-the-top flamboyant that she is often mistaken for a drag queen.

Though The Ritz is superbly well crafted by McNally, it requires spot-on casting and skillful direction in order to reach its full potential as a laugh riot. For the most part, the Roundabout revival comes through.

Rosie Perez is priceless as Googie, whether lamenting the low points of her career (she was to have played “one of those f**king Trapp kids” in The Sound of Music, but was fired) or delivering off-key renditions of such show tunes as “Mañana” (a.k.a. “Tomorrow” from Annie) and “Peoples” (a.k.a “People” from Funny Girl).

Kevin Chamberlin is wonderfully endearing as Proclo, striking comic gold with his shocked reactions to the goings-on in the bathhouse and, more specifically, in the steam room. As Chris, a Ritz regular who befriends Proclo, Brooks Ashmankas has the audience in stitches with his gayer-than-gay mannerisms; yet he manages to ground the character in reality, which really pays off at the end of the show.

Terrence Riordan looks great and does a fine job in the ridiculous role of Michael Brick, the handsome detective with a Mickey Mouse voice. Lucas Near-Verbrugghe (how's that for a marquee name!) and David Turner are cute as buttons as Tiger and Duff. Lenny Venito isn't quite fat enough for the role of Vespucci, but is otherwise perfect. And Ashlie Atkinson, who gave an unforgettable performance in Fat Pig Off-Broadway several seasons ago, is fabulous in her few scenes as Proclo's wife.

Window dressing is provided by the towel-clad gents who play the bathhouse boys, including former gay porn star Ryan Idol as “Crisco Patron.” Broadway maven Seth Rudetsky appears as another of the patrons, and he nearly steals the show on two separate occasions. Alone among the large cast, only Patrick Kerr disappoints as Claude; while his comic timing is sharp as a tack, the actor has been made up and costumed to look so creepy that the character comes across as off-putting rather than amusing.

Joe Mantello, not previously known for directing farce, does a bang-up job with this one. Costume designer William Ivey Long and hair/wig designer Paul Huntley conspire to bring us back to the '70s, for good or ill. Christopher Gattelli has come up with deliciously tacky choreography for Googie's floor show and the “amateur night” sequence in Act II.

Indeed, the only significant problems in this revival have to do with the venue and the set design. Scott Pask's three-level recreation of a gay bathhouse is accurate (as far as I know!), but so capacious that it's sometimes difficult for the director and the actors to focus our attention where it's supposed to be. (Lighting designers Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer might have been more helpful in this respect.)