Chris Black and Ken James

DANCE I never know whether a return engagement "by popular acclaim" is a clever marketing ploy or if, indeed, audiences have vociferously demanded another opportunity to see something that earned positive buzz. But in the case of Chris Black and Ken James, I wouldn't be surprised if the slogan, for once, wasn't just hype. Last year the premiere of The Adventures of Cunning and Guile played to a packed house at the Cartoon Art Museum. While I had some doubts about the way the show flowed, the audience was wholeheartedly behind it. As dancing comedians, Black and James have few equals in the Bay Area. Poker-faced, they send up the complications of relationships and gender roles with just-so timing; they are also aware of the value of understatement. Last year some of the Adventures episodes looked improvised, as if they were played directly off the art hanging on the walls. Since this is a site-specific performance, the museum will again impose its own challenges on this piece, about two eager but failed performers who may never make it big in Hollywood — the show is packed with popular movie references — but who have the biz in their blood. (Rita Felciano)

CHRIS BLACK AND KEN JAMES Fri/17–Sat/18, 8 p.m. (Also Feb. 24–25, 8 p.m.)

Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission, SF. $15. (415) 863-9834, www.odctheater.org