The cast of “Spooky” (courtesy Landless).

Written by DCist contributor Andrej Krasnansky

When doing a parody of a parody, the result should be double the laughs, not double the length. The cartoon Scooby Doo, Where Are You?, itself a send-up of the mystery show, was under half an hour and felt short, but Landless Theatre’s production of Spooky Dog and the Teen-Age Gang Mysteries runs for about an hour – and still feels a bit long.

The show is preceded by Ally Jenkins and John Sadowsky’s attempts to warm up the crowd, cluing the audience in to the improv nature of the show. The audience provides a name of a celebrity, a common saying, and a prop for use in the “85 percent finished” play about to begin (They had Sean Connery, “don’t eat yellow snow” and an empty bottle of Fuze to work with Sunday.).

But the show really begins when Spooky Dog (played enthusiastically by Nick Greek) gives a familiar howl of “Spoooky-Spooooky Doog!” Then the cast launches into a musical number about how subtle name changes (Ted instead of Fred, Tiffany instead of Daphne) make them litigation-proof. The play takes off in familiar directions: the gang goes to see Sean Connery perform at a funhouse, and discover he’s been kidnapped – no doubt by the phantom that always kidnaps the main attractions.