Now showing: Enron — the Musical

If you like musicals of questionable quality and Enron, you're so in luck: Enron — the Musical, a locally produced stage version of the infamous corporate high jinks, is now on stage in the Heights. Seriously.

Mark Fraser, a manufacturers' representative, wrote, produced and directed the show, which is based around parody lyrics set to popular show tunes. (There are 28 songs, some of which were unperformed pieces Fraser wrote for the Houston Press Club's Gridiron Show. If you've attended the Gridiron before, you'll have an idea of what's in store.) "[The songs] were too good to waste, so I decided I'd just write a show to use them," Fraser told the Chronicle. Here's an example, set to the Gigi classic "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" and sung by actors playing Andy Fastow and Michael Kopper:

Thank heaven for off-book deals For off-book deals improve our balance sheet ... They raised our stock and fooled folks on Wall Street Those partnerships we set up were appealing But now they're not 'cause we got caught for fraud and stealing.

The story of Enron's rise and fall is told from the viewpoint of a former employee, who Fraser named "Ex-Enron." As the Chron notes, "Ex-Enron and his wife must have been pretty well-connected, because they can tell everything that happened to everyone — even stuff it took investigators years to uncover." Or, you know, he might just be a good narrator. Fraser said he based everything in the show on fact and tried to strike a balance between funny and serious material. "You can't have the audience laugh all the time," he said. "They get tired." Well, indeed.

Each actor in the play holds six roles, so the Chronicle reports there are some delays while they rush around changing costumes and taking their places for the next scene. And there's one more thing: Enron will have a decidedly Christmasy feel, as it's performed on the set of Santa's Magic Timepiece, a children's show. But hey — that's showbiz.

Enron — the Musical
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday (ends Dec. 10)
Lambert Hall, 1703 Heights Blvd.
Tickets: $25; call 832.545.4353